In the Details
by wimmer511
Summary: In the aftermath of s04e24. Spoilers. With the team's help Jane tries to get information from Red John's friend while trying to find some normalcy in recent tragedies. He can sense changes in his relationship with Lisbon and doesn't know what to do about it. Romance/Angst/Humor, and all the good stuff that's incorporated in the show. Rated T, for now.
1. Lost Faith

**I started reading fanfiction's for the first time after episode 24 of season 4 of The Mentalist. I loved the episode so much that I didn't want to wait until next season to get my fix. I have a friend who has written fanfiction before so it popped into my head and now I'm hooked. As you can probably guess, this is also my very first fanfiction story. I wanted to give my two cents about some things. This wasn't going to be a romance originally, because I don't think that Jane and Lisbon are ready for it in the show, but I want them to end up together, so I'm going against my difficulties with them getting together too soon and writing a love story. (The romances are always the most fun to read anyway.) I hope you like it and I can't wait to read what you think!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own the Mentalist**

* * *

Chapter One - Lost Faith

Jane lay on his makeshift bed upstairs in the CBI building. It hadn't been touched since he'd left. The blankets were even still folded back from the last time he'd used them. He grinned, realizing that Lisbon was more than likely the one who'd stopped it from being taken away. He could only imagine the conversation she would have had convincing the janitors to leave it be. How she would have had to tell them that he was coming back, even though she couldn't really have believed it. He _had_ played his part well.

He smile faded a little as he lifted his head and pushed his pillow up under his neck to distract from the uncomfortable feeling that had just tried to take up residence in his stomach.

He had felt some satisfaction in the church admitting to Lisbon that if he could fool her, he could fool Red John too. If she hadn't been so angry with him she would have seen it for the compliment that it was. He hadn't meant it to be. He'd meant to make a point. Still, he obviously saw her as highly formidable or he wouldn't have made the comparison.

The bed was dusty, but he couldn't care less. It felt familiar and that's what he really craved right now. Familiarity. His attic, his couch, his team, Lisbon… A smile fought its way back to his lips as his thoughts shifted back to the loyal brunette, who always gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Then he realized that she would have had to explain it to Wainwright too. His smile faded faster this time then it had the first time as he thought of his former boss—murdered by Red John.

He was supposed to be able to see things that others missed, yet he'd had no idea that it had been Luther in the back of the Limo and not Red John. Another life taken. Wainwright was a more than capable agent and leader, it was why he'd accomplished so much at such a young age, but he _was _a child and he was dead.

Jane subconsciously added Wainwright to his guilt list—the list of people who had been murdered by Red John after his wife and daughter. He felt guilty for everyone affected by Red John after the death of his family, but he felt a personal responsibility for a few: Bosco and his team, Kristina Fry, the boy from the Morgue who'd been left in Rosalind Harker's house, and now Wainwright.

He followed a crack in the ceiling with his eyes as he told himself that it wasn't his fault. Lisbon had told him it wasn't either, but he knew that wasn't true. These deaths and those of his family were times when Red John had broken pattern to teach Jane a lesson. A part of him wanted to take that lesson, stop playing the game. His more rational side told him he couldn't, that he had to keep going until they caught Red John, or the killings would never stop. And now they had a real possibility of making progress. They had Lorelei.

His stomach flipped. It'd been over an hour since he'd left her with Lisbon in the interrogation room. He was surprised by Lisbon's self-control. Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her when it came to his love life—if you could call it that. Even he had to admit that it was pathetic.

Sophie Millar had been the most normal of them all, but then again whatever it was that they'd had would never have worked, especially considering he'd been locked in a mental institution when he'd met her. He was really fond of Kristina Fry despite the fact that her psychic antics had annoyed him. Not that it had mattered in the end—after Red John had ruined her mind. Then there was Erica Flynn. He'd found her… intriguing, but she was a convicted man-slaughterer and she'd used him to escape from jail. Not his most proud moment to be sure but interesting nonetheless. And now there was his latest disaster—Lorelei.

Lisbon had never been one to shy away from asking Jane about his love life. She teased him about Sophie Miller, had been jealous of Erica Flynn and had been frank about her distaste of the woman. But Lorelei was different. He'd slept with her and he knew that Lisbon would be dying to ask him one question, but she still hadn't come looking for him.

He sat up, swung his feet off the bed and took a couple deep breaths. He decided to go find her. He might as well get it over with.

* * *

Lisbon had been shocked when Lorelei had called Jane "lover," and it had been clear on her face. When Jane left it had taken Lisbon just a second too long to pull herself together. Lorelei smiled at her playfully. She felt a shiver threatening to run up her spine, but she'd controlled her body.

The idea of Red John and Lorelei talking about her made her feel sick. The idea of Jane sleeping with Lorelei made her feel… tired. She was definitely not at her peek and decided now wasn't the best time to talk to Lorelei. She stood and headed for the door.

"Wait," Lorelei called after her. She slowed and looked back at her. "You should know that I do care about Jane," she said. Her face was serious. "Just like you do."

"I seriously doubt that you know how to care about anything," Lisbon told her, her eyes glued to the doorknob that her hand held.

"Oh, but you're wrong, I do," Lorelei continued. Lisbon looked back at her. Her face was still serious. "Don't you want to know?"

Lisbon turned at that. "Know what?" she asked in her typical cool manner.

"How he was?" A grin started to cross Lorelei's face, her tongue lightly brushed her upper right canine, and she looked into the distance like she was remembering a pleasant thought before she returned her cocky gaze to Lisbon's face.

Lisbon fought the urge to say "ew" and kept her face composed. The last thing she would _ever_ want to know was what Lorelei thought of Jane's sexual prowess. Still, if Lorelei wanted to play this game she was a smart enough agent to realize it could be the only way to get something, anything from her.

Jane wouldn't like it, she knew. He'd be worried. But now that the thought was there she couldn't just push it away. It was something to be… discussed. Besides, she would never explain to her that she had obviously been misinformed about her relationship with Jane. Her relationship with Jane was none of Lorelei's business anyway.

Sure, Jane and her cared about each other. She was sure that was obvious to just about anyone who knew either of them. She'd gone along with his schemes for years, she'd lost her job at one point and even been shot, but he was still the person she trusted the most, as was obvious by how she had gone along with his "breakdown" plan—even after he had abandoned her for six months. And he had proven long ago that she was important to him when he'd shot and killed their only link to Red John, a dirty cop named Hardy, and also by his absolute refusal to work with anyone but her.

If Red John and Lorelei thought that she was going to be jealous over this, they were both seriously mistaken. Her and Jane were protective, sometimes paternal and maternal, and sometimes they were much like siblings, but it's not like they were in love.

She felt her brow furrow at the thought, recalling what Jane had said to her in her office before he'd pretended to shoot her. He'd hugged her then…

"_Good luck Teresa, love you." _

Lorelei's haughty smile snapped Lisbon out of the thought.

She stepped back toward the table and said the only thing that she could at that moment in time. "Sure," she smiled brightly, "but first why don't you jot down Red John's real name and address." Lorelei's face dropped. "No?" Lisbon acted shocked. "Well, then I guess we're done here."

Lorelei smiled again, leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "Your loss," she said, "literally." The last word dripped with innuendo.

Lisbon returned the fake smile with one of her own and left.

She stopped at the adjoining room where Van Pelt and Cho were standing, watching the interview from behind the one way mirror. She went in making sure the door shut completely before speaking.

"I want one of you keeping an eye on her at all times. Anyone outside of the team is not allowed in that room or anywhere near her."

"Yes boss," Cho said.

"Where's Rigsby?" Lisbon asked.

"He's with Sarah. She was pretty shaken by…" Van Pelt let the sentence trail off.

"Get him back here. Red John's friends have a nasty habit of ending up dead and I'm gonna make damn sure it doesn't happen to her. Plus there are a lot of angry agents in the building…" She didn't finish the sentence, and didn't need to. After Wainwright, there'd be a lot of cops out for her blood. "We're gonna be stuck here until I can figure out what to do with her."

Van Pelt and Cho nodded. She turned from them and left the room.

The question that had popped into her head during the interview was back. She wanted to seek Jane out. She had a pretty good idea of where he'd be, but how could she ask him. She hated herself for thinking the worst, but he hadn't exactly been honest with her lately. She only hoped that the moral compass he'd found after the death of his wife and daughter hadn't failed him. If only he'd kept her in the loop all this time.

She reached the end of the hall where she could either go upstairs to Jane or into her office. She stopped, decided to leave it be and went into her office. She couldn't ask. It was too weird. Plus she wasn't sure she really wanted the answer anyway. She could just pretend it had never occurred to her and live in blissful ignorance.

She walked slowly around her desk and sat in her chair. She opened a file and began flipping through it, not really paying attention to what she was looking at. Her hands started to tremble. This was the first time in days that she'd had a moment to herself to think about what had happened. It was clearly getting to her.

Before she knew what she was doing she dropped her head to her desk, and let out a frustrated groan. She couldn't live in blissful ignorance. Sooner or later she'd have to ask him. Until she knew for sure, she'd assume the worst, and if she didn't respect him, it'd make it really hard to work with him.

She didn't need to ask him today though. _Maybe tomorrow…_

* * *

Jane made his way down to Lisbon's office. Her blinds were closed and her door was shut. Her office was hardly ever like that. The last time he'd seen the blinds shut was the night he'd pretended to shot her. She hadn't had time to open them since then. He walked slowly to her door and pushed. He stuck his head in and saw her working attentively on her computer.

She glanced at him quickly then back at her screen. He made his way to the chair across from her desk and sat down as the door swung shut. She quickly finished what she was typing and turned to look at him while shoving a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. She'd told him she hadn't been sleeping well since he'd left, but it wasn't until now that he saw just how exhausted she was.

More guilt washed over him. Before this afternoon he'd convinced himself that it would all be worth it, her suffering for him, but they still didn't have Red John. They had Lorelei though and that would have to be prize enough for now.

He watched as Lisbon regarded him thoughtfully. He knew she wanted to ask him something and he knew exactly what she wanted to ask, but she didn't. Instead she sat quietly, with her hands interlaced in front of her on her desk waiting for him to say something.

When he didn't she broke the silence. "How are you holding up?"

He quickly went from feeling guilty to feeling frustrated. She always thought of him, even when she was miserable. "Don't do that Lisbon."

She tensed a little. "Do what?" Her question hadn't sounded harsh exactly, but it was definitely different than the normally caring tone she used with him when she thought he was fragile.

"I'm a big boy; you don't need to take care of me or mother me."

She nodded once. "This coming from the man who just crawled through a church so he could pretend to be the voice of God and scare me?" her eyebrows raised. She stood up and walked past her desk and him to the filing cabinet on the opposite side of the room with the file she'd been working on. She opened the cabinet and put it back.

"Lisbon," Jane said softly. He hadn't moved in his chair. "Just ask me."

Jane hadn't turned to look at her, but he could almost sense her pause after he spoke. He heard her take a deep breath. Then he heard the filing cabinet close.

"Ask you what?" She walked back to her chair, with a look that said she wanted him to believe she was clueless.

"You know what." His face remained as somber as when he told her not to mother him.

He could see that Lisbon was having an internal struggle. He needed her to be herself, to be strong and free of burdens. He couldn't have some imposter Lisbon always looking over her shoulder, wondering if she could trust him. That's not how their relationship was or how it would ever be if he could help it.

He knew that he'd taken a big risk with her by leaving, but she'd forgiven him—he'd seen it in her eyes at the church. Even though she'd scolded him she'd forgiven him. She needed to know the truth so they could go back to being as normal as ever they were. She needed to ask her question and Jane decided that neither of them was going anywhere until she did. So he held her gaze.

He could see the moment when she decided to go ahead—the visible change in her countenance. He could see how uncomfortable this was making her.

She regarded him thoughtfully before speaking. "Did you know?"

"Know what?" He knew exactly what she meant, but he wanted to hear her say it. He needed to know that he could still read her and that she still cared about his ethics.

She looked exasperated, but restated making sure there was no room for doubt. "Did you know that Lorelei was Red John's girl before you slept with her?"

"Why do you want to know that?" he asked.

She looked dangerously close to telling him to get out of her office. But she controlled herself with some effort and continued. "Because if you knew, then I need to be seriously concerned about whether or not I can trust you." She took a deep breath and plowed on. "If you would sleep with someone just to catch Red John then that tells me that you're slipping."

A small, harsh laugh fell from his lips. "Slipping?"

"Yes," she told him sternly. "You've already lied to me and shut me out of your life for six months. You lied, conned and cheated your way to Red John… If you slept with her knowing who she was, then what wouldn't you do to catch him. What's next, Jane? Murder? Because Red John seems to think that that's the logical next step."

He had known her question and the motivations behind it, but he hadn't expected her to be so blunt. "No. Of course not! How could you even think that?" He took his eyes off her in his frustration. "You know my break down was faked."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You don't fake sleep with someone Jane!" She recoiled at her words the moment they came out and this caught Jane's attention. Jane returned his eyes to her and tried to read her reaction, but it was so un-Lisbon like that he didn't know what to think.

An awkward silence filled the room before she managed to pull herself together. "I wasn't going to ask you this, but you brought it up! So, either answer me or… don't." Jane watched as a sad resolve took over her features. She looked down at her desk then finished her thought. "We both know I'm in this with you for the long haul."

His face dropped and his frustration immediately quelled. "Teresa."

Her face looked uncomfortable when he called her by her first name. He wanted to apologize, but he knew she'd never believe it was sincere and hesitated. The only thing he could give her now was the truth. It would be the only apology she would accept. "I didn't know."

Her head whipped up and he could see the relief in her eyes. It had been a much bigger deal to her than he'd realized. Still, he had to let her know the whole truth. He raised his hand in a gesture showing her he wasn't finished. "It's not like I didn't have my suspicions, though."

Her face dropped just a little. "Suspicions?"

"It's not important," he told her, and her face showed him that she agreed—for now anyway. A moment passed between them before she spoke again.

"Thank you—for telling me," she said in a near whisper. He nodded lightly. "I have Cho and Van Pelt watching her for the time being," Lisbon told him. "Until I figure out what to do with her."

"It's gonna work this time Lisbon. It has to." His voice was firm and intense.

She looked away from him and he couldn't help but notice she was uncomfortable yet again. She wasn't normally an uncomfortable type, and he had to admit that he'd always been amused by the few times she had been uncomfortable, but right now her discomfort was only serving to make him uncomfortable, and that was something he couldn't have.

Her lips parted slightly and then she said, "Yeah, about that."

Jane leaned forward in his chair. "Yes? Don't tell me you've lost faith in me."

She looked back at him, brows furrowed. "Jane," she said slightly irritated, "what were we just talking about?" She didn't give him time to answer. "It's not about that," she told him with a dismissive wave of her hand and he couldn't help but to smile at her. "I have an idea," she made eye contact, "but I don't think you are going to like it."


	2. A Good Scolding and a Brusied Ego

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and commented on my story! It was great to get feedback, and hear that people are enjoying the story. Please keep telling me what you think. Also, I just posted a profile, for those of you who are interested. Sorry I didn't have one before, I didn't know I needed one...**

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Chapter 2 – A Good Scolding and a Bruised Ego

Jane frowned. The happy feelings he'd just been having over their reconciliation were gone and were abruptly replaced with a nervous sick feeling in his stomach. He rubbed the tips of his right hand fingers to his right hand thumb in a circular motion as he waited for her to continue.

"Don't look at me like that Jane. You come up with ideas that I hate all the time. I still go along with them," she turned away slightly in her chair, and raised her hands as if questioning herself, "for some reason."

"Yes, but my ideas are good." His childish slam came out before he could stop it.

She glared. "You haven't even heard my idea yet."

"Well if I'm not going to like it then what's the point." He didn't remember moving forward, but somehow he'd ended up on the edge of his chair.

"Maybe your right? I don't need your help to do it," she chided. She stood up quickly and Jane could see that she was deciding whether or not to walk out.

"Now Lisbon, don't be hasty. Any plan would be better off if I were involved."

That was the last straw for her. "Yeah, well you're not invited anymore," she snapped while she headed for the door.

Whatever it was she had planned he needed to know; whether he liked it or not, whether she liked it or not. At very least he could try and talk her out of it. But only if he stopped her before she made it out the door.

He grabbed her wrist as she passed his chair. "Lisbon, Red John is mine. If you have a plan you can't leave me out of it."

It wasn't until he finished speaking that he saw Lisbon's eyes on his hand holding her wrist. It abruptly reminded him that the last time he taken her hand it had been for comfort. He could feel her pulse racing and let go trying not to be too awkward about it. Her eyes found their way to his and once again; he wasn't sure what she was thinking. It made him uneasy.

It took a second, but she finally spoke. "First of all Jane, Red John doesn't belong to you. I believe I've told you that before. Second, if I decide that my plan might work, I'll go through with it, with or without your help. Do you understand?"

Jane held back a smile. It was about time Lisbon gave him a good scolding. He'd missed them the last six months. Instead he nodded and shrugged childishly. "What's your idea?"

"When you left the room Lorelei…" she hesitated, and Jane almost thought he could see red on her cheeks, "tried to engage me in a conversation about… you know."

Jane almost smiled, but decided it'd be more fun to see her squirm. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "No, what?" He played dumb.

She let out an irritated, long breath. "How you were in bed." She stuck her pointer finger in her mouth and faked a gag.

This time Jane did smile and so did Lisbon, even though she was trying not to. "Oh yeah, what'd she say?" He sat up a little straighter in his chair.

Lisbon eyes narrowed. "Nothing." She was eying him suspiciously, before reigning in her expression. "She didn't like the exchange I offered her to get it off her chest."

Jane's smile widened. "You offered her an exchange?" He was impressed by Lisbon's wit, and trying really hard to ignore the slam in her statement.

"Yeah, she could tell me whatever she wanted about you in exchange for Red John."

Jane couldn't help but laugh a little. "Really."

Lisbon faked a look of confusion. "She didn't go for it. Weird. I mean if I'd slept with you," Jane's stomach flipped at the statement, but he wasn't sure why. She continued, "I'd want to talk to someone." She looked at the ceiling as if contemplating it. "Probably a therapist, but hey, when you're in police custody I guess you take what you can get." She stuck her hands in her back pockets.

"That's funny."

Lisbon let a smile cover her face. "I know, right." She shook her amusement off a little and tried to bring the conversation back on point. "But that's neither here nor there." She walked to her sofa, removing her hands from her pockets before she sat down. "The point is that she and Red John obviously think there's more… a lot more to our relationship."

It suddenly occurred to Jane what Lisbon was thinking.

"I think we could use that to our advantage," she finished.

His head started shaking before she'd even finished talking. "No Lisbon, no way."

"Your reaction is only confirming my suspicion that it's a good idea."

"No," Jane cut in. "I'm not going to let…"

Lisbon spoke through Jane's rant. "It'd work."

"…become and even bigger target." His voice got louder as he spoke. As she finished he looked at her and continued. "It'd work to get you killed!"

She ignored his last statement and responded to what he'd said before that. "How could I possibly become a bigger target, Jane?" She inclined against her couch cushions dramatically.

"Do you really need me to explain that?" This conversation was starting to get him heated.

"Maybe… I mean once Red John has his eye on someone, it doesn't make any sense that you could become a "bigger" target. With him all targets are the same size," she tried to reason.

"Yeah, dead," Jane said sardonically.

"Calm down," she said in a motherly tone. "Besides it seems to me, that for now anyway, he wants _you_ to kill me and you're not going to, so…"

"No, he _wanted_ me to kill you. Since I didn't…"

"He's assumption is already made. All I'm suggesting is that I…"

"Pretend to be involved with me?"

She smirked, "Jane," she motioned him to lean closer with her pointer finger and after he did she continued, "not if I could stop all the psychos in the world."

"Whoa, easy on the insults." He leaned away from her and his face dropped defensively. Between this statement and the one she'd made about needing to talk to a therapist if she'd slept with him he was starting to feel his ego bruise.

She continued, "The idea is simply to plant it in her head that their suspicions about my feelings are real. That's all." She was trying to pacify him. "Like I said, I don't need your approval to go through with this."

"And how do you plan to do it."

"She obviously wants to get a rise out of me. She probably mistook my shock at her calling you 'lover' as jealousy. She'll bring it up again and again. All I need to do is make her think that it's upsetting me." She paused. "Subtly."

"And what do you hope to accomplish from this?"

"The idea is to get her talking," Lisbon rested her elbows on her knees and leaned toward Jane, "to get her to indulge too much. To get her to slip. If she thinks she has the upper hand, she might. And the only way she'll feel she has the upper hand is if she thinks she's upsetting me. I realize it might not work, but I just can't afford to think that having her means nothing, like it has with all of his disciples."

Jane looked down at his hands. "It won't be easy."

"When is it ever?" she asked though a smirk, even though there was more truth in that statement than anything else that had been said between them. "Jane, I get it. This is a marathon not a sprint."

Jane looked into Lisbon's eyes. She was resolved. She was going to do this with or without him, just like she'd said. He had wanted his Lisbon back, but now that she was here, he wasn't so sure anymore. It occurred to him that _his_ Lisbon often got herself into precarious situations because of him and here she was all ready to do it again. He knew he couldn't stop her. He also knew that she was a cop and would therefore always be in danger, but right now in the safety of her office, he felt more worried for her than he ever had before. He made a decision: if he couldn't beat her, he'd join her.

"Alright, I'll help."

* * *

**Three Months Later**

"Nice neighborhood," Lisbon said as she walked into three story gray house in front of her with Jane at her heels.

"You think?" Jane sounded unimpressed.

"Yeah," she said noncommittally. "Well, the Mayor lives around here somewhere, I think."

"Oh, the Mayor; it must be a nice area then," he tried to get a rise out of her.

Lisbon ignored him and continued into the house. Cho and Rigsby were already inside waiting for them. Rigsby was downstairs talking to the local sheriff and nodded at Lisbon as she came in the front door. Cho was at the top of the stairs that started right at the entrance of the house.

"The body is up here," Cho's normal straight face was in place as he gestured them up the stairs.

Jane looked around the house before following Lisbon upstairs. So far there wasn't anything particularly startling. A couch, a T.V., family pictures, a coat rack with shoes that belonged to different size feet, a desk with a computer, guitar hero and the house was fairly tidy.

A family of three lived here, successful father, stay at home mother, a lazy but smart teenage son.

"What have we got?" Lisbon asked Cho, as the two of them entered a small bedroom at the back of the house.

Jane could hear Cho answering as he made his way down the hall to the room where the body was.

"David Cane. Seventeen. His mother found him this morning when she came into wake him up for school. He was bludgeoned over the head with this weight."

Jane stopped at the room right next door and looked out the window from his spot in the hall. "Lisbon, look at the view," he yelled to her. The house stood on a hill and from the back bedrooms you could see a lake not even a mile from the house.

She ignored him, or hadn't heard him, so Jane made his way to the crime scene.

"His parents were gone until one in the morning," Cho said. "He was probably killed before they got home."

"And they didn't check on him until this morning?" Lisbon asked sounding surprised.

"Mom says he's a light sleeper and she didn't want to wake him."

"Lisbon, the view," Jane tried as he stepped into the victim's room.

She glanced in in the direction of the windows at the same time Jane did. They were closed.

Jane noticed that they were all perfectly straight except for a few in the middle window a little closer to the top which had been bent. He took a step toward the windows at the same time Lisbon did. He looked over at her and was impressed that she seemed to notice the same thing he had.

He'd first noticed a difference in her when he'd gotten back, but she was continuing to surprise him. He'd always thought of her as a superb detective, but she had started thinking out of the box and a little more like, well, him. She was seeing the details. He liked that.

She reached the window before Jane did, because he had to walk around the body and the end of the bed. When he reached it she was staring up at the spot where the blinds were bent.

"How high up do you think that is?" she asked Jane, without looking at him. "Six and a half feet?"

"Hmm," Jane replied in agreement as he glanced down at the carpet.

"Cho? How tall is our victim?" Lisbon asked. Jane already knew the answer to her question and knew that the boy wouldn't have been tall enough to reach the spot without something to stand on.

Cho glanced down at the boy who lay face down on the carpet. "Maybe six feet."

Jane bent over and lifted the duvet revealing a stool. He pulled it out from under the bed and pushed it over to the spot where it fit into the wedges it had created in the carpet from excessive use, but there were little dents in the carpet that were still to be accounted for. Lisbon looked down and watched as Jane worked. He stepped up onto the stool once it was in place.

"What was he doing?" Lisbon asked, suspicion coloring her tone. Jane looked around the room and Lisbon continued to watch him.

A huge smile crossed his face as he noticed something shoved behind the head board of the bed. He stepped off the stool with a small smile, walked over and grabbed it. Cho and Lisbon watched curiously. It was a telescope. Jane brought it over and placed it in the groves in the carpet until it lined up perfectly, then he got on the stool again, aligned the telescope with the crease in the blinds and looked through.

"What was he looking at?" Cho asked.

"Patience," Jane told him as he focused the lens. As the scene cleared, his eyes bulged. "Oh boy," he said animatedly reaching out to Lisbon. "Lisbon." He pulled away from the telescope, stepped down and motioned for her to get up.

She gave him a questioning glance as he offered her a hand, which she took as she stepped onto the stool. Then she grabbed onto the telescope with both hands and she looked through the lens. A moment later her face fell. "Ah, Crap!"

She pulled away from the telescope just as Rigsby walked into the room. "Boss, the Sheriff tells me that last week a restraining order was filed against David for stalking. You're not going to like this, but it was…."

Lisbon raised her hand to stop him from talking and put her other hand to her forehead.

Jane jumped in finishing Rigsby's sentence. "The Mayor's wife who filed the complaint?"

Jane smiled.

Cho looked curiously between Jane and Rigsby.

Rigsby looked confused. "How'd you know that?"

Lisbon finally got a hold of herself and stepped down from the stool. "I want to make this as painless as possible. Talk to the Mayor's people before you go to him. Get his alibi for last night and whatever you do be as discreet about this as you can. Is forensics on the way?"

Cho nodded.

Jane waved Rigsby and his confused expression over to the stool as Lisbon was talking.

He moved around the body and the bed suspiciously and then once reaching the stool climbed up. He then hunched down, looked in the telescope and swallowed.

"Is that," Rigsby stuttered, "is she?" He pulled away and looked at Jane.

Jane kept smiling. "Yes it is and yes she is!" This day was getting better by the minute.

Lisbon pulled out her phone, made a call and waited for an answer. "Van Pelt, the Mayor's trophy wife is having an affair. I need you to go to their house and talk to her." She paused for a moment waiting for Van Pelt to speak then said, "Yes, and her lover is in the house with her right now, so be advised." Lisbon headed out the door.

Rigsby looked in the telescope one more time.

"You're sick," Cho told him.

"What?" he said pulling away from the telescope with an awkward smile.

Jane rolled back on his heels and stuck his hands in his vest's pockets with an ever growing smile on his face. "You want to look Cho?" he asked.

Cho smiled briefly then walked quickly to the telescope just as Lisbon stuck her head back in the room.

She was still on the phone with Van Pelt. "Jane, stop encouraging them. Let's go." She gave Cho a look that said don't you dare. Rigsby quickly stepped down from the stool. She turned and walked out of the room again. Cho and Rigsby looked at Jane once more. He shrugged and quickly followed Lisbon.

Jane caught up with Lisbon right as she stepped out of the front door and quickly fell in step beside her. She hung up her phone and glanced over at him.

"Look Lisbon," he pointed at a house up the street. "There's a house for sale," Jane pestered. "You could live here!"

Lisbon threw him a dirty look and picked up her pace.


	3. Almost Back to Normal

Chapter 3 Almost Back to Normal

Lisbon sat quietly in the driver's seat as she drove with Jane to the Maximum security prison. She chanced a look at him. He sat silently in the passenger seat in a navy blue, pinstriped, three piece suit. His curly blond hair seemed a little more tussled than normal. She could tell that he hadn't sleep well last night. She focused on the road again and exhaled deeply. She hated how quiet they would get whenever they went out to the prison.

She peeked at him again quickly. He was staring out the passenger side window. She couldn't help but think about how different his countenance was today from yesterday when he'd discovered the mayor's wife's explicit affair. Then, as with almost every day since he'd returned, she could almost believe that things had gone back to normal.

Then there were the days when they went to question Lorelei. On these days she was reminded that things may never be the same again. She took another deep breath and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

"Lisbon," Jane said startling her out of her thoughts. "Relax."

She looked over at him, exasperated by his comment. "How do you do that?"

"I can see your reflection." He kept looking out the window, and she became suddenly self-conscious—not sure if he was actually looking out the window, or if he was still looking at her. Lisbon could feel her jaw tighten.

"Everything's going to be fine," he told her.

Lisbon sighed again.

"Breathing loudly isn't going to help." Now he sounded a little exasperated.

"I don't think I like this plan."

"You were the one who said you wanted to do this," he reminded her.

"No, my plan never entailed you leading her on," she said coolly, while tapping the steering wheel with her fingers. In reality she felt the total opposite of calm.

Jane ignored her. "Let's just get this over with so we can figure out who murdered David Cane."

Lisbon looked at him again. He'd brought his right hand index finger up to the window, tapping it with his knuckle and his face was somber. It was a good thing too, because she decided she would never let him go through with it otherwise. She looked back at the road and took another deep breath.

"Lisbon!" Jane said in a less than patient and very patronizing tone.

Lisbon glared. "Oh! All right."

* * *

Jane walked into the interrogation room that had been set up for their frequent visits. Lorelei sat in her orange scrubs and was slightly reclined against her chair. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and a small sincere smile crossed her lips. He walked slowly to the chair that sat across the table from her and sat down.

"Patrick," she said smooth as honey, "you haven't been to see me in a couple of weeks now. I've missed you."

He gaged her tone before saying anything. "There was no reason to come," he told her honestly.

Her face dropped and for a moment she _almost_ looked genuinely hurt. "You couldn't think of even one reason?"

Jane's face hardened momentarily. Lorelei was one of the best manipulators he had ever met. She had a way of getting under your skin, of making you believe things that weren't true, a way of seducing you into a false sense of calm. This ability on anyone could be dangerous, but what made it particularly dangerous on her was that she truly believed her own lies.

She liked messing with Lisbon, but when she said she cared about Jane she truly meant it, in her own perverted way. And when she told Lisbon that she had been pleased to meet her, she really had been, and when she told Jane that he'd been right about how there was no right or wrong, she had believed it to her core. She was so good at manipulating simply because of her stubborn belief in her own lies. It made her the perfect friend for Red John.

Even though they had her under constant surveillance, switched out guards daily, and had her in a maximum security prison, Jane knew that if Red John had wanted her dead she'd be dead. She wasn't though—she was alive, which meant that Red John still needed her. She still had a part to play in his twisted game.

"Don't do that Lorelei," he told her softly, avoiding eye contact and twiddling his thumbs in his lap. If there was a game to be played, he was going to bring it.

She smiled at him until he looked up, then batted her long lashes. "You really are very adorable."

"What's the game Lorelei?" Even he was surprised by the question.

"Right to the point, huh? We haven't tried this approach in a while," her grin remained.

"You and I both know that you're only here because Red John wants you here." He leaned forward in his chair bringing his hands up onto the cold steely table as he did and pointed at her with his thumb and index finger together. "And he wouldn't want you here unless he could somehow use you to bate me."

Her smile faded. "I think you're giving me more credit than I deserve."

"How so?" He hadn't noticed but he was still leaning across the table.

She leaned forward now too. "Could I bate you?" Her tone was curious, her hands came up onto the table. "I was pretty sure that bridge burned the moment I told you Red John had sent me."

He wanted to lean back, but couldn't. "It did," he told her matter-of-factly. "Which is why I asked you what the game was. Is there any point to beating around the bush now?" he asked in a soft voice.

She followed suit and lowered her voice as well, then gently slide her hands across the table until the tips of her fingers touched the tips of his. "Patrick, don't think I'm cold, please." Her voice was almost pleading, but not quite. "That night meant something to me."

He let her fingers slowly slide further down his hand. "Because of Red John, not me," he managed to say.

She shook her head, but held his eye contact. "Red John gave me the option to be with you or not. I chose to be with you and I'd choose it again."

His hand twitched under her fingers.

* * *

Lisbon waited restlessly outside the door to the interrogation room. Jane had asked for ten minutes and she was counting down every second. Her watch was lifted and she was watching the second hand.

_Twenty seconds, _she thought. She wanted to curse at the warden for the lack of a two way mirror.

_Thirteen seconds._ Her stomach was twisted into knots and she wanted to curse at Jane, even though it wasn't technically his fault.

_Nine seconds. _She became suddenly nervous. What would she see when she went in, how would she act?

S_even, six, five. _How was she supposed to act?

_Three, two, one. _

She nodded at the guards at the door, took a deep breath, shook off her nerves after cursing at herself for being so ridiculous, then opened the door. Before seeing them she heard the silence that filled the room instead of the contrary conversation she'd become accustomed too. They weren't talking.

The door finally moved out of her line of sight and she jumped slightly. She knew she had and she knew Jane would have noticed even though he was currently in an intense stare down with Lorelei. Actually she wasn't so sure Lorelei hadn't seen it either.

She shut the door behind her before the guards could see, and felt her skin crawl as she took in the scene before her. Lorelei looked as though she was staring at the love of her life and Jane looked pale, confused, and disappointed. They were leaning toward one another across the table and Lorelei's fingers were caressing the tops of Jane's hands. It was such a small thing, but it was so intimate. Too intimate. Lisbon felt her brow crease. She couldn't remember him saying anything about touching in his plan. She was sure, however, that she could remember what bile tasted like…

She stood there awkwardly for a moment before Jane, reluctantly, withdrew his hands from Lorelei's touch and placed them in his lap. He still kept his eyes on Lorelei. Lisbon was aware that Lorelei was now looking at her that she had been since before Jane had moved his hands away from her, but she couldn't take her eyes off Jane's expression. It made her worried and nauseous.

Lorelei spoke, "Not the best timing, Lisbon. But I'm still happy to see you."

That was enough to pull her eyes away from Jane, and place them on Lorelei. She looked happy and it was enough to make Lisbon want to slap the smug grin off her face. "Oh. Well shucks. Should I give you another ten minutes?"

Lorelei smirked. "Five would be enough."

"Cute," she said addressing Lorelei, then she turned to Jane. "Jane lets go." She walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

He stood up and let Lisbon pull him out of the room.

Just as the door was about to shut, Lorelei called out. "One month Jane. Remember."

Lisbon pulled him past the guards before turning to Jane. "What was that?" she asked in a whisper.

Jane smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Your plan in action."

"Jane, that was seriously creepy." Lisbon felt herself shutter and crossed her arms. "And what did she mean by remember one month?"

Jane looked at her thoughtfully. It made her skin crawl, but she refused to let herself shutter again. "If you are even considering keeping me in the dark about this," her voice was starting to raise, but she caught herself and went back to a whisper, "I swear I will never let you go anywhere near her ever again." Her voice was firm, but not unkind. Jane was off and she didn't want to upset him more than he already was.

He shook his head. "Red John's game."

"Game?" She pulled her chin back. An overwhelming sense of dread was starting to overcome her.

"It starts in a month." His tone was level and it gave her the willies.

She shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Lorelei told me that he'd be delivering a message to me in a month."

Lisbon took a deep breath, let her arms drop and squared her shoulders. "Okay," she said with resolve. She took another breath then lifted a finger and pointed it at Jane, "Stay." She turned and walked back into the room with Lorelei.

She had completely forgotten that she had meant to put on a show before. She knew she'd seemed upset, because she had been, she just hoped Lorelei would take it the right way. Actually she was going to insure that Lorelei took it the right way. She walked over to the chair that Jane had been sitting in and sat down.

Lorelei smiled at her with wide eyes. "Back so soon?"

"You want to talk about Jane?" Lisbon asked calmly. "You wanna tell me how he was in bed, about how you seduced him, or how he seduced you… about every touch… every kiss?" She drew out the word kiss. "Because if you do, now's the time."

Lorelei looked confused. Lisbon felt really quite proud about that, but stayed in character.

Lorelei thought for a moment, and then smiled lightly. "Why the sudden interest Lisbon? Has it finally become too much for you? Always on the outside looking in on what you can't have. Looking in on something that I've had. You wanna live vicariously through me?" She was becoming cockier as she spoke. "I'm proud of you sweetie. I was starting to think you'd never ask." Lorelei leaned toward Lisbon. "But why now?"

Lisbon fought off the urge to roll her eyes and vomit, all at the same time. She leaned toward Lorelei, and placed her elbows on the table between them. "I merely ask, because I'm sure Jane was a highlight in your pathetic little existence and I wanted to give you a moment to reflect on that."

Lorelei's brows brunched momentarily before she let out a little laugh. "Why's that?"

"Because in my life Jane's a permanent fixture and if anything happens to him there will be no Red John, no CBI, no prison guards, no nothing—just me and you and your regrets. You get me, 'sweetie?'" She smiled pleasantly at Lorelei, who now wore a very somber expression. Lisbon leaned back in her chair, and put her hands behind her head. "So go ahead, enthrall me."

Lorelei just stared.

Lisbon lowered her arms. "No. Interesting. You always wanna tell me how he was in bed, but every time you get the opportunity..." she let the sentence hang.

"Touché Lisbon. Red John told me you were smart. He's told me a lot of things, but not even he knew the lengths you were willing to go to for Jane." She spoke serenely. "It's sweet."

Lisbon raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"But what wouldn't a person do—for love," Lorelei clarified.

Lisbon's face dropped. She stood up quickly and walked to the door. It was open a crack and she could see Jane. Her stomach dropped. It'd just been a show for Lorelei, but it made her uneasy thinking that Jane and the guards had heard the whole thing. She pulled the door the rest of the way open, stepped out and made sure to shut it all the way this time.

"We're done," she told the guards. She avoided looking Jane in the eye, but stepped closer to him so the guards couldn't hear them speaking.

"So much for subtlety," Jane said quietly. It was supposed to be a joke, but there was no humor in his voice.

"If there was any doubt there won't be now." She peeked up at him, his face was hard and his eyes were sad. She looked away quickly—she couldn't stomach his expression anymore. "Let's go." She turned from him and headed away from Lorelei.

She didn't hear his footsteps, but a moment later she felt his hand on her shoulder. Not to stop her, or get her attention, but just because. They walked all the way out to the car at a steady pace, without saying a word, and with his hand soothingly on her shoulder.

The Drive back to the CBI was done in silence. Lisbon parked and she and Jane got out and began walking toward the building. When they were nearly at the door Jane stopped. Lisbon stopped too and looked back at him warily.

"What is it?"

"I think I'm going to take the rest of the day off," he told her.

She had to swallow a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat before speaking. "Okay."

He smiled at her, then turned and walked away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she called after him and even she thought it sounded more like a plea than an 'until later.'

He waved over his shoulder. "Tomorrow."

She turned from him and walked slowly into the building. He hadn't told her everything. She knew that. Even when she'd threatened him, she'd known that. He often kept things from her and the team. It was his way of protecting them and himself. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat again. Still, whatever it was that he was keeping from her she just hoped it didn't make him disappear again. The uneasy feeling she'd been trying to quell was now back in full force. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is. I was a little worried that this might be too far out there for Lisbon at this point in time, but I really liked it too. Let me know what you think.**


	4. Eyes and Ears

Chapter 4 Eyes and Ears

Jane lay in his hotel room staring at the ceiling. He knew he should get up, go into work and tell Lisbon everything that Lorelei had said to him. Actually, more like what she had expressly said Red John was going to do.

He had spent the night going over a plan in his head; trying to figure out his next play in Red John's twisted game. How he was going to stop Red John. If he went to Lisbon about it now his hands would be tied.

He sat up, and swung his legs off the bed, then ran a hand through his hair. He felt tired. He always felt tired, but today was worse than normal. He knew Lisbon would be mad at him when she found out the truth, but she didn't need to know right now.

He stood up and walked over to the mirror that stood above the vanity and sink and turned on the light. He then turned on the cold water and splashed his face a couple of times. He dried his face off with the towel hanging on the wall to the right of him, next to the light switch. It wasn't until then that he noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He normally hid his exhaustion better than this. He wondered what Lisbon would think if she saw him. She wouldn't be happy.

He longed for his couch at the CBI, even the couch he'd bought for Lisbon, or his makeshift bed upstairs. The best sleep he'd gotten since his wife and daughter had died had been in one of those three places. He wasn't sure why that was exactly. He always assumed it was either the constant flow of people or that the team was there, and Lisbon…

He shook off the thought and turned from the mirror. He went to the closet and pulled out a black suit, gray vest and white shirt.

Lisbon's words from yesterday came back to him as he quickly got dressed.

"_You wanna talk to me about Jane? About how he seduced you, about every touch and every kiss?" _

He remembered Lisbon's beguiling tone and how she'd leaned toward Lorelei. It had made his skin crawl. Lisbon should never have had to say such things.

Then he remembered something else she said.

"_He's a permanent fixture in mine and if anything happens to him…" _

He knew her well enough to know she'd been telling the truth and those words had made him feel safe—a rare and appreciated feeling. He hadn't known he could still feel that way. He pushed those feelings aside. He knew a lot of what she'd said was purely for Lorelei's benefit, but he also knew that there was a lot of truth in her words, at least for him.

He made up his mind as he pulled on his shoes. She was always there to protect him, had been for years. He'd promised in the past that he would always save her and he wouldn't fail her now. Especially not after what Red John had promised via Lorelei.

Jane told Lisbon that Red John would be sending him a message, but what Red John had really said was "gift." Jane had also left out the part where Lorelei had insinuated that Lisbon would be that gift. He hadn't told Lisbon because he didn't want her to panic. And she would have, but she would have done so in silence. He couldn't have that. It'd drive him crazy.

He stood from the chair where he was sitting and grabbed his keys. He had people he needed to see. Things he needed to do. Then he would talk to Lisbon, and tell her… something. He hadn't thought that far yet.

He reached for the doorknob when it suddenly occurred to him that the team was working on a case that he was supposed to be helping with. He cringed. If he just disappeared for a few days Lisbon would be pissed. She might not even let him near Lorelei again. Her threat at the prison hadn't been veiled.

He would have to work the case and protect Lisbon at the same time. No one could suspect what he was doing.

* * *

The elevator doors opened allowing Lisbon to pass. She walked slowly to her office and looked in the direction of Jane's couch, feeling discouraged when she saw it was empty. She went into her office and sat her stuff down, then made her way across the bullpen and to the kitchen. A little hope rose in her chest when she heard the sounds of someone opening a cupboard. Maybe it was Jane? She rounded the corner and found Rigsby.

"Morning Boss," he said through a mouthful of yogurt.

She smiled weakly. "Morning." She walked over to the coffee machine, and began making herself a cup of coffee. "Did you get the Mayor's schedule from the night of the murder yet?"

"Yes, he has an alibi. We haven't spoken to him directly…" he began.

Lisbon looked at him. "Don't… for now. It's bad enough that we have to pull his wife into this. I want to try and keep this as far away from the media as possible." She sighed. "The last thing we want to do is connect a murder to the Mayor when he's up for re-election."

"Are you okay boss?" Rigsby suddenly interjected.

She smiled nervously. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired, that's all."

Van Pelt walked into the kitchen just as Lisbon finished speaking. "I spoke to the Mayor's wife. She didn't want to talk to us at her house and I didn't have anything to bring her in on, but I convinced her to come in tomorrow afternoon."

"Nice Grace," Rigsby said impressed. "I hear she's really tough."

Lisbon poured some sugar in her coffee and began to stir. "How'd you get her to agree?"

Van Pelt smiled. "I threatened to tell her husband about her affair."

Now Lisbon was impressed.

Van Pelt's brow creased. "Hey, where's Jane?"

Lisbon looked at the couch again. He still wasn't there. Then she looked back at Van Pelt. "He's taking some time off. He'll be back soon," she said as she walked past them to her office.

"Yeah, like last time?" Rigsby said.

Lisbon could hear the resentment in his voice. She stopped and walked back into the kitchen. "Listen," she stopped and looked into the bullpen for Cho. "Cho," she raised her voice.

Cho looked up at her and she waved him over.

She waited until Cho was in the kitchen before she spoke again. "I need you all to listen to me carefully. I know that you're still upset with Jane, but he's had a hard time…"

"Tell that to Lorelei," Van Pelt said free of shame.

Lisbon shrugged and looked over all their faces. "Is that what this is about?" None of them would look her in the eye. "You're mad that he slept Lorelei?" She was confused.

"Why aren't you?" Van Pelt asked.

"He lied to us Boss," Rigsby said. "He slept with the enemy."

"Cho, do you feel this way too?"

Cho looked at Rigsby and Van Pelt then back at Lisbon before nodding uncomfortably and crossing his arms.

Lisbon stuck her hands in her pockets and nodded. "Okay, that's your right. But you should have all the facts first."

"What facts?" Rigsby took a step forward placing a hand on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Lisbon nodded toward her office letting them know that she wanted them to follow her.

They all filed in after her as she walked towards her couch then stopped and turned to face them. Cho shut the door.

Lisbon took a deep breath and spoke. "I have to apologize to you all…"

"No…" Van Pelt and Cho said at the same time, while Rigsby shook his head.

She raised a hand stopping their protests. "Wait, just let me finish." She shook her head and looked down. "Jane left because he thought it was best."

"He left because he's selfish," Cho said stone faced.

"You should be more angry than we are," Rigsby told her.

Lisbon lowered her head and looked at them in disbelief. "All right, that's enough. I should've told you all when I found out and I'm sorry that I didn't. I didn't realize it was bothering you. I was angry until I found out that Jane didn't know about Lorelei when he slept with her."

Cho rolled his eyes. "Please."

"He didn't" Lisbon said firmly.

"He's Jane, he knew," Rigsby said.

"He had his suspicions, but he didn't know. Not for a fact."

Van Pelt tossed her long red braid over her shoulder then crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't really believe that?"

"Actually, I do." Lisbon voice was firm. She left no room for doubt.

Van Pelt looked at the carpet.

Lisbon continued, "I should've told you sooner."

"Boss, we were mad that he lied to us and that he didn't tell us what he was doing." Van Pelt said. "He should've. We've gotten past it. We're just… we're having a hard time with how he treated you."

Lisbon was bewildered. "How he treated me?"

"Yeah," Rigsby said and stuck his hands in his black pant pockets. "He tricked and lied to us, so what. He does that all the time… He betrayed you."

"No," Lisbon said through pierced lips.

Van Pelt jumped in again, "You weren't yourself while he was gone. You were distant."

Lisbon shook her head no.

"Come on Boss. It's what Red John thinks and that's all that matters," Cho said.

Lisbon couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had the whole world gone mad? "I can't control Red John's thoughts, or yours for that matter," she told them calmly, "but let's just clear something up. I don't own Jane and we are not—nor have we ever been in a romantic relationship. He can do what he wants," _except leave again, _"and it won't affect me whatsoever."

"We know that boss, but you're all he has," Van Pelt said. "Considering that we think he should've…"

"He should've what?" She cut Van Pelt off mid-sentence. "Told me his plan? You're right, he should've, but it's too late for that. Jane's not perfect. Cut him some slack." The team all looked away uncomfortably.

She continued, "And, as far as Lorelei and Jane's night together is concerned—that's none of our business." The team knew the air of finality in her tone. "I appreciate how well you've been working with him since he's been back, but these thoughts, and under handed statements need to stop. Now! I know you're angry and I thank you for caring about me like that, but this," she signaled to the three of them with her pointer finger, "is exactly what Red John would want. The only way we're going to catch him is if we move past this and work together as a team. And like it or not, that includes Jane." She let her words sink in. "Am I understood?"

"Yes," Van Pelt and Rigsby said in unison. Cho nodded.

"Great. Now, we have a case to solve."

They all looked at each other then left her office. She looked over at Jane's couch as they left. He still wasn't there.

* * *

Jane walked slowly through the factory and was beginning to wish Lisbon and her guns were with him. Then again if she knew what he was up to she'd never have let him come. He thought for a minute about calling Rigsby or Cho. They would've helped, probably, even though they still weren't thrilled with him. Still, even they would've been easier than Grace. She was all but giving him the cold shoulder.

She'd taken on the role of angry friend since Lisbon had openly forgiven him, as women were wont to do for other women they cared about. Although, Grace had offered him a good morning salutation the other day—unbidden even. He saw that as a good sign given the circumstances. He'd have to remember to put more effort into being remorseful. They'd come around eventually, even Grace.

A piece of glass crunched loudly under his foot. He cringed, and paused for a moment before taking another step. Then he heard a noise that made him stop cold—a round being chambered in a gun. He stood up straight and raised his hands immediately, before the person holding the gun could say anything.

The footsteps he heard more than likely belonged to a large man, and they were followed by a deep voice. "You wandered into the wrong building, buddy."

Jane watched as an enormous, hairy man stepped into view. "Yes, you'd think that," Jane said quietly. "Actually, I'm here to see your boss." He looked around as if he were expecting to see said boss. "I wonder what he'll think when he sees you have a gun on me." He sounded nonchalant, then returned his gaze to the gun barer.

The man lowered the tip of his rifle a little self-consciously. Jane controlled his smile. This would be relatively easy.

"Can I put my hands down now?" Jane asked while putting his hands down.

The man lowered his gun a little more. "Who are you?"

Jane stepped forward and offered his right hand, "Patrick Jane." The man lowered the gun to his side and reached out awkwardly taking Jane's hand.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked feeling even more confused, and his face didn't hide it.

Jane took his right hand firmly and tapped the man on his left shoulder with his free hand. "Ah yes," Jane released the man's hand. "That, I can't tell you. You know how it is with these criminal types," he gestured with his hands, "they would not be happy if I told you." He looked up as if remembering something. "What did he do to the last person who asked too many questions? Didn't he cut off… no, wait that was the guy before, he cut out the throat of the last guy. Is that right?" Jane tapped the gun-totter on the shoulder again.

The guy's eyes widened a little in fear. "Yeah, that's right."

"Hey," he said as if he'd just thought of something, "since you've already swept the perimeter do you think you could take me to your boss now?"

The man nodded awkwardly then started walking to the back of the building before stopping abruptly. He turned back to face Jane, "Wait, I don't know…"

"You're doing a great job. You found me, you know how to use guns," he said trying to make it seem like it was a good thing, "and you are obviously the go to guy for keeping people out. That's why your boss will be so glad that you took me straight to him." Jane tapped the guard good-humoredly on his left shoulder.

The guy was still confused, but smiled uneasily and turned once more, leading Jane right where he needed to go. Jane looked at the gun and shivered slightly. He was relieved that the man had had a particularly low threshold for hypnotism. Getting shot was definitely not on his to do list. Making a deal with Stephen Sinclair, however, was a top priority.

Stephen Sinclair was Sacramento's biggest crime lords and one of the top three largest in the state of California. He had been easy to find. He wasn't hiding and didn't need to, because no one knew what he looked like. He had lackeys that did everything and he never traveled alone. The cops could never pin anything on him directly and even if they could it would be all but pointless when there were six men all claiming to be Stephen Sinclair.

Jane was led into a hall where he was told to wait. He heard an angry voice, followed by some arguing and then another voice spoke over them all quieting them. A moment later the big guy returned. He gave Jane a dirty look, but nodded for him to go in.

Jane took a deep breath and walked into the room with more confidence then he was actually feeling. The room was garishly decorated with a table in the center of it and a chandelier over that. Chairs were set up in several places over the room and four of them had occupants in them. Two men sat at the table and were very casually dressed one in jeans and a t-shirt the other in khaki's and a button up shirt. Another man sat near the far wall, had curly hair and wore suit pants and a stripped, navy blue shirt. Another sat in a chair closer to the door, he also had curly hair and he was scowling. His appearance wasn't terribly remarkable, however the gun he had holstered at his side was interesting enough.

Two other men were standing. One was leaning against a wall and was wearing a black shirt, a leather jacket, jeans, and steel toed boots and looked like he was trying to decide how he'd kill Jane later. The other stood right in front of the table with his arms crossed. He was dressed in a suit, with a jacket and all. He was tall, skinny, his hair was slicked back, and he looked weasely. This was obviously the man they wanted him to talk to.

"Patrick Jane," the man said.

Jane stopped a few feet away from him and nodded.

"Is there some reason why we shouldn't have you shot for trespassing?"

"It would ruin this lovely 19th century carpet I'm standing on." Jane leaned back on his heels and stuck a hand in one of his pockets.

The two men at the table both let out a loud laughs. The one sitting in the chair against the back wall with the curly hair and the weasel both chuckled lightly. The other too only glared.

"Yes that would be a shame," the man said, taking a step back to lean against the table. "How did you get James to bring you in here?"

"James," Jane said as he raised his eyebrows in shock. He didn't look like a James, more like a Yeti. "Well, I hypnotized him. A dirty trick, but seeing as you are all petty criminals, my conscience is clear." This time only the man leaning against the table and the one sitting in the chair by the back wall seemed amused.

"You hypnotized him?" the weasel asked.

Jane looked around at all the men, sizing them up. The man leaning against the wall gave him a hostile look. He glanced back to the one who'd been speaking. "Uh, yes."

"Weak minded fool," the angry man against the wall said under his breath.

Jane watched the reaction the other men in the room gave the comment. All, except for the one sitting in the back looked at him. The one in the back kept the amused look on his face and was still looking at Jane. Jane smiled and crossed the room toward him in several rapid strides. The men who were sitting stood up abruptly and the man Jane was approaching gave the angry man a look, that said "wait," when he moved to intercept Jane.

When Jane reached the curly haired man he extended his hand. "Stephen Sinclair, it appears you have a face after all."

The man didn't take his hand.

"There are six of us in here, there's no way you could know…" the weasley guy began again.

The man in the chair held Jane's eye contact, but waved at the man speaking to stop.

"Enough. He knows. I can see it in his eyes," Stephen said. He stood up and reached for Jane's hand, which Jane gave him.

Stephen motioned Jane over to the table and with a flick of his wrist he signaled to the men who'd been sitting there to move. He and Jane sat down.

"It's been years since I've been this amused. How did you know it was me?"

Jane crossed his legs and looked confidently over the table at the crime lord. He pointed to the weasel, "Chatty Kathy here has been on the news too many times. You want the police to think he's you, he's better looking and well-spoken which gives you an air of sophistication," Jane said.

Stephen's cocky smile dropped a little, but the smile never left his eyes.

Jane continued, "But you, the real you, would never be on T.V. that much. So I knew he was out. These two," Jane pointed to the men who had vacated the chairs, "are obviously just for show. They laughed a little too much at my joke about your carpet, and looked stupefied when I walked toward you. There's not a brain between them, and they aren't muscle. Whereas this man," he pointed at the man leaning against the wall, "was warned off coming after me—by you. Who else would have that power over him?"

Stephen's smile grew large again.

"Plus he has bruises on his knuckles. You don't do your own dirty work." Jane shrugged.

"That accounts for four. Was it just a lucky guess after that?" Stephen was smiling again.

Jane pointed to the last of the men, the one sitting in the chair near where the angry man was standing. "This one's too young. Your younger brother I'm guessing from the curly hair—and he tries to give off an apathetic air to cover his resentment of you."

The brother stood up and stepped toward Jane aggressively. "That's not true!"

"Isn't it?" Stephen said. His brother threw him a dirty look and stormed out of the room.

"Oh," Jane pointed at his retreating back. "also, he carries a revolver that's made of silver. A crime boss with your particular reputation would never carry something so garish. You're too unaffected for that kind of ostentation."

Stephen laughed. "You're good. Imprudent, but good."

"Thank you," Jane said with a little smile.

Stephen smiled in return. "I know you're a cop, and now that you've seen my face I'm going to have to do…"

"Nothing. You won't do a thing." Jane looked at his interlaced fingers.

Stephen leaned forward. "What makes you so sure? I've spent years building this disguise and you destroyed it within five minutes."

"Three," Jane said defensively. "And I'm not a cop, I'm a consultant."

"What is it you want, Mr. Jane?"

Jane looked into Stephen's eyes. "I want a favor."

"A favor?" Stephen let out a belly laugh this time. "You've got a lot of nerve."

Jane's face went stern. "I'm perfectly serious."

Stephen's laughter calmed as he looked back at Jane and then completely vanished when he saw Jane's face held no humor. "What would a cop consultant possibly want from a 'petty criminal,' as you put it?"

"You have eyes and ears all over San Francisco and connections all over the state. I want you to use them for me." Jane was rubbing the side of his right hand index finger with his thumb.

"And what am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Red John."

"Red John? Isn't he," he suddenly remembered, "yes… he's that serial killer. Right?"

Jane nodded.

"Why do you want to find this man? And why aren't you satisfied with the police?" Stephen was sincerely curious.

Jane looked right at him. "Red John murdered my wife and daughter. The police are doing what they can, but it's not enough." Jane leaned forward, "I need to up my game and I will."

Stephen leaned back in his chair. Jane knew he felt he finally had the upper hand. "If I were to do this for you, what would be in it for me?"

"A favor for a favor. One of equal proportion," Jane clarified.

Stephen smiled. "You're willing to commit a crime for this information?"

"Yes," Jane said quickly. Just as Jane spoke he remembered that Lisbon had asked him what he wouldn't do to catch Red John and if she could trust him, after she'd learned he'd slept with Lorelei. He tried to push her out of his thoughts; he couldn't afford a conscience right now.

Stephen's smile broadened. "It seems we have ourselves a deal." He reached across the table and took Jane's hand.

As Jane shook his hand he reminded himself that it was more important that Lisbon was alive than that she trusted him. And if this worked she'd be alive and that would give him a chance to prove to her that he could be trusted. Once and for all. If she died he'd never get that chance. Besides, what he was doing was for the greater good after all.


	5. Yellow Roses

**A/N: This chapter is probably rated M, for the first part.**

* * *

Chapter 5 Yellow Roses

Lisbon raised her gun and walked slowly down the dark alley. The street light nearby flickered on and off and the smell of a nearby dumpster wafted toward her making her nose crinkle. Her skin crawled, but she kept a cool exterior. She knew she should have waited for backup but there wasn't time. They'd get here when they got here, but she had to go in now.

As she approached the end of the alley, where it crossed with another street, she walked closer to the wall and stuck her head quickly out around the corner looking in both directions. To the left was a dead end and nothing else. To her right was a building with an open door that led to a completely blackened space. She pulled back quickly and cursed. There was no cover between here and the door and she wouldn't be able to see what was inside the door until she was close enough to be attacked or shot at.

How did Jane always manage to get himself into these precarious situations? She sighed and peeked around the corner again. She momentarily thought back to what the team had said to her earlier that day. Maybe they had been right about Jane. He had disappeared for months and then he came waltzing back into her life expecting everything to go back to business as usual. And here she was about to walk into who knows what, because he'd told her to jump. She took a deep breath, stepped around the corner and made her way to the building.

She moved slowly, soundlessly. Hoping that whatever Jane had gotten himself into wasn't watching her from the shadows. She reached the door, pulled out her flashlight, and shined it into the building. She took a tentative step through the frame. It was empty. No sign of anything or anyone. Her left hand held the flashlight and rested easily over her right hand, which was holding her gun. She shone the light around looking for some sign of Jane.

"Jane?" she asked with a sturdy voice. "Where are you?"

"Boo!" a voice yelled from behind her.

She jumped then turned sharply and pointed her gun at… Jane. He was laughing, thoroughly pleased with himself for having scared the crap out of her. That is until she intentionally allowed the beam of her flashlight to go right into his eyes. His hand went up covering them.

"Sheesh Lisbon, lower it a little would you?"

"Jane!" she roared, dropping the beam a little, but not all the way. She was still peeved. "What are you doing?"

"Having a little fun," he told her with a huge smile and a chuckle. "You should've seen your face."

She glared at him as she holstered her gun, but kept her light pointed at him. "Would it still have been fun if I'd shot you?"

His face dropped a little. "Now, don't be a grumpy Gus. I actually did call you here for a reason." He stuck his arm out to her motioning her to walk with him.

She shook her head and stepped in his direction. "It better be good, because Cho and Van Pelt are on their way."

"That's good," he told her and suddenly his voice sounded very tired. He led her slowly across the large main area of what she assumed must have been a factory at one point with his hand at the small of her back. She kept her light aloft, so they could see where they were going.

"Jane, where are you taking me?" She was becoming suspicious and more irritated.

"Not much further," he assured her.

"Does this have anything to do with the David Cane case? Because if it doesn't I'm not interested."

"Just wait," he said in a whisper.

"It's late, I'm tired, and there is a hot bath waiting for me at home," she told him sticking her left hand in her front left jean pocket.

She noticed his brow go up a little. "Really?" he inquired. "I would've pegged you as a shower kind of girl."

They reached a hall that split off from the main building and he signaled for her to turn. She did and he continued to follow close.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she sounded exasperated.

"You are always on the go. Intense. The idea that you would take the time to relax into a nice hot bath is…" he let a little smile slip causing Lisbon's stomach to lurch, as he finished his sentence, "…surprising, that's all."

Her brow furrowed. "I can relax."

"Sure you can?" he told her.

"I can!" she said heatedly.

He raised his pointer and middle finger to his lips, shushing her as they reached the end of the hall. Then he whispered, "That door, right there." He pointed at it with the same fingers he'd used to shush her with. "Ladies first."

She looked at him curiously, but stepped to the door, reached out for the handle and opened it. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the change in the light. The ceiling was missing and the moon shone through brightly. She turned off her flash light and stepped in. She could hear Jane enter behind her.

She looked up at the moon for a moment before speaking. "Okay Jane, what are we doing here?" She turned around until she found him.

His face had gone pale and he was staring at something. She followed his gaze until it met a wall at the far end of the room. On it were hundreds of red smiley faces. A shiver ran up her spine and her hand immediately went to her gun.

"Jane?" she looked back over at him questioningly.

He continued staring at the wall. "What would you do if I died," he asked her. He sounded like he was in a trance. She felt her brow furrow at his question, but her line of thought was quickly interrupted when she saw something move behind him. She drew her gun, but too late.

A man dressed all in black, with a mask over his face, came upon Jane with a knife and slit his throat.

"Jane!" Lisbon yelled, stepping toward him as he fell into her. She tried to hold him up, but he was too heavy. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground. She dropped with him. She looked up and tried to find the assailant, but he was nowhere. She heard the sounds of footsteps behind her and turned her head quickly, but there was no one there.

"Boss!" Cho's voice was coming from the distance. Back up was here, but the attacker was gone. She turned back to Jane and put her hand to his throat, trying to stop the bleeding. Both of them were covered in blood. She could feel a lump rising up her throat.

"Boss!" Cho's voice called again.

She dropped her head to Jane's and closed her eyes. She could feel a scream about to leave her mouth.

"Boss!" Cho's voice was practically on top of her.

Her head flew up and her eyes opened. She felt groggy as she looked around, everything was blurry, but slowly starting to come into focus. A piece of paper was right in front of her. Actually it was on her face. She reached up and grabbed it then blinked again.

She was in her office.

"You okay boss?" Cho asked again. She looked toward her door where Cho stood.

"Cho?" She shook her head and looked at the paper that had gotten stuck to her face when she'd fallen asleep. "It was just a dream," she said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Must have been pretty intense. I called your name three times before you woke up," Cho informed her.

She looked up at Cho and quickly lay the paper back down on her desk, suddenly embarrassed that Cho had witnessed his boss waking up at her desk with a piece of paper stuck to her face.

"You could say that," she muttered, then, "I didn't sleep well last night." She tried to play it cool.

Cho gave her a disapproving look. She knew it didn't have anything to do with her falling asleep. More than likely, he was finding a way to blame it on Jane.

_So much for playing it cool, _she thought.

She supposed it was Jane's fault she hadn't slept last night, in a way. She'd been up worrying about him instead of sleeping. But then again, she couldn't expect Jane to be around all the time just so she could get a decent nights rest. Worrying about him had somehow become a full time job over the last year, and she wasn't thrilled about it, but how could she blame him for her fears. He was in danger and would always be in danger.

"What do you need?" she asked Cho, as she pulled herself out of her thoughts.

"Nathan Cane, David's father, his alibi has an entire hour unaccounted for. He swears he has a witness, but we haven't been able to find him."

"Alright, you and Rigsby bring him in and keep looking for the witness and have Van Pelt check for surveillance footage from last night, see if it can't support his story."

"Sure, Boss."

"We're gonna have to be very thorough on this case," she knew the team was aware of what could happen, but she couldn't help but reiterate. She didn't want this turning into a media frenzy. Especially not right now with… whatever was going on with Jane.

She looked at his couch. "What time is it?"

"Three," Cho told her. "He still hasn't come in."

"Who hasn't come in?" she asked him surprised by his comment.

"Jane."

"No." She shook her head a little, confused. "I know that. I told you he's taking some time off," she had to work at it to not come off as defensive. She managed it, but just barely.

Cho's eyes got a little bigger. "Right, then why do you keep looking at his couch?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Habit," she said grumpily. He continued to stare with his fixed expression and his arms crossed. "I think I gave you an assignment," she growled. "Let's get it done." She calmed herself. "I'm very tired, grumpy and I'd like to get home at some point this evening."

"On it," Cho said as he walked out of her office.

She grimaced, but wasn't sure if it was because she was being so transparent, or because Cho had called her on it, or because she'd fallen asleep at work, or because of her nightmare or because Jane still hadn't come in. This day sucked.

* * *

Jane parked his light blue Citroen in front of the mayor's house and pulled out his cell phone. It was already three in the afternoon. He checked to see if the volume was down and if he'd missed any messages. It wasn't and he hadn't. He was surprised. He thought Lisbon would've called him by now, demanding to know where he was, and wanting to know he if was planning on doing any work today. There wasn't as much as a text message. He shrugged childishly; he was irritated that he was being denied the chance to pester her. It was a daily routine they'd had before he'd left and one they'd fallen back into since he'd returned. It'd only been a day since he'd seen her, but he was missing the banter. No one bantered with him like Lisbon.

He did realize that this wasn't a normal day. He had left somewhat dramatically yesterday after they'd seen Lorelei. Maybe Lisbon wanted to give him some space. Things had felt pretty well the same since their talk in her office three months ago. But every once and awhile he got this feeling that things weren't back to normal. Like today.

Lisbon had always been wary of how much of her trust she actually gave Jane. For the most part she went along with him on everything and she had forgiven him, but she was being somewhat guarded with him. Not professionally, she was the same there, but he could feel a difference personally. Today was further proof that he was right about it.

He pushed back the uneasy feeling that was threatening to take over and stepped out of his car, shutting the door behind him. He stretched backwards a little then headed to the front door of the Mayor's house. He stuck his hands in his front pockets and started whistling a tune as he gazed over the garden. Even though he didn't particularly care for the neighborhood, gaudy houses all about keeping up with the Jones's were not his forte—not since…

He had to admit that the mayor's garden was lovely. The yard was filled with flowers of all kinds: hydrangeas, lilies, tulips, snap dragons, roses and so on, but the ones that most caught his eye were the yellow roses climbing the railing that led to the front door. The buds were huge and he could smell their fragrance from the moment he'd stepped out of his car. When he reached them, he stopped bent his head down, closed his eyes and breathed in their saccharine aroma.

"Those are my favorite," a voice said from behind him.

He opened his eyes, stood tall and turned. The Mayor's wife, Aria Franklin stood off the side yard, with her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, in short jean shorts and a large t-shirt, soiled work gloves, with sheers in one hand, and a handful of flowers in the other.

He smiled.

"Yes, they are very nice," he said conversationally, "but I couldn't imagine anything less for a woman of your obvious good taste."

She smiled in return. "Are you a cop?"

"Nah, just a consultant," he told her.

"I told the redhead, that came here yesterday, that I would be coming in tomorrow," she placed the hand holding the flowers on her slender hip. "This is harassment. I could sue."

Jane's hand found its way back to his pocket. "You wouldn't do that," he told with all confidence.

Her smile grew. "Oh, wouldn't I?" She came closer to him. He could see her brown eyes sparkling.

Jane shook his head. "You're an extrovert. You like the attention." Jane watched her face drop, but continued, "No doubt that's the reason you were having sex in front of your very large, _open_ windows, yesterday."

"You think that's so?" Her smiled returned to her face, but not her eyes. She was being guarded.

He figured he better butter her up or this could turn very ugly very quickly. "Yes, and might I say that you are incredibly limber."

She burst out laughing this time. "Thank you. I take yoga."

Jane smiled. "It shows," he said. Then he became serious catching her off guard. "Where were you last night?"

She took another step in his direction. "At home. Alone," she pouted.

"Hm." Jane rubbed his right hand thumb over the side of his right hand pointer finger.

"Why," she asked, and it didn't escape Jane's attention, that she was biting her lower lip coyly.

"I'm just trying to get a read on you in your own environment."

"Oh, sounds exciting," she said as she removed her gloves and set them down in the yard with the tools. "You'd better come in for some coffee then." She kept the flowers she'd cut in her hands.

He looked at her for a moment. "Do you have tea?" he asked.

She smiled broadly and beckoned him to follow her into the house as she passed him and walked up to the front door.

She led him through the front room, down a hall and to the kitchen. Jane couldn't help but note how like a museum the house appeared. White marble floors, dark paintings, gold decorative rugs lining the hallways, crystal chandeliers—cold, lifeless, very unlike a home.

When they reached the kitchen he nearly did a double take. This room couldn't have been more different than what he'd already seen if they'd hired two different decorators.

As she removed a vase from under a cupboard for her flowers, he looked around. The fridge was covered in photos, mostly of Aria and what he assumed was her family from the similar smiles, blond hair and brown eyes they all had. The kitchen had a warm honey colored wood floor, and there was a red kettle on the stove with burn marks near the bottom from excessive use. A newspaper sat opened and was laid carelessly across the kitchen table with a half full glass of coffee next to it. The room was clean, but not tidy. It was lived in.

"Trent never uses the kitchen," Aria said.

"It's obvious. This is your space," he told her.

She nodded as she turned and filled the vase with water. Once it was full she put the flowers in it and put them on the counter. "Yes, and the garden." Then she grabbed the tea pot filled it with water and placed it on the stove. "Where are my manners, please take a seat."

Jane sat at the table as she rifled through a cupboard looking for tea. He felt like he was looking at a completely different woman than he'd seen only moments before in the yard. "So why the show?" he asked her.

She grabbed the tea from the cupboard and looked back at him. "Show?"

"You're not the woman you want people to think you are."

She smiled as she pulled out two mugs from the cupboard. "Who do I want people to think I am?"

"Not this," he signaled around the kitchen. "Not normal."

She pulled out two bags of tea and placed one in each cup. "A life with Trent can never be normal. I knew that when I married him." She looked into Jane's eyes, "I am what people think. This," she signaled with a turn of her head to the kitchen, "is merely an indulgence."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "How sad."

She shrugged as the kettle began to whistle. She broke their eye contact and made the tea. She then brought it over and sat one down in front of Jane before she took a seat herself.

Jane brought the tea up to his nose and breathed it in. His eyes closed as he slowly brought it to his lips and took a soothing sip. He was fully aware that Aria was watching him with a flirty grin, but how could he bothered with that when something as tempting and wonderful as this tea was in his hands—teasing his taste buds.

"Pretty good, huh?" Aria finally broke through his reverie.

"Yes." He opened his eyes regretfully. "You make a lovely cup of tea."

She laughed. "Almost orgasmic, apparently."

He smiled despite himself. "I wouldn't go that far, but this is the best cup of tea I've had in a long while." He took another draw then set his tea on the table. "I was wondering, Aria, if you knew life with your husband was going to be like this, then why did you sign on?" He leaned forward. "You're young, beautiful, smart, and you make heavenly tea. Why chose this life? A life you are obviously not happy with?"

"I wanted to make a difference." Her entire face glowed. "Cliché, I know."

"If you wanted to make a difference then why would you have an affair that could potentially ruin that," Jane asked. "If your husband found out, you'd lose everything."

"No. I wouldn't!" she said defensively. But something in her tone caught Jane's attention.

"He's a control freak," Jane said as she shook her head, "a politician. Plus, I've seen him speak. He's the kind of man that gets what he wants, when he wants it. Like you—for example." Jane watched her look away angrily. "Then this house. Everything has a place and everything in its place. Am I right?"

"So what?" she told him. Jane took another sip of his tea, while he waited for her to calm down, which she did after a few breathes. "How do you do that?"

"What?" he set his tea back down.

"Read me like I'm an open book. It's irritating," she told him.

He half grinned. "You're not the only person who thinks so." He paused for a moment. "I like you Aria." He saw her eyes light up as he said this, "I'm only being this blunt because I know you can take it and so that you know that there point in hiding things from me."

"I'm not hiding anything," she said with a demure smile as she looked at him through her lashes.

"Oh, but you are, and I will find out what it is." He stood, and finished what was left of his tea, then sat his cup down.

"Where are you going?" she asked jumping to her feet.

"I think I've gleaned all I can for now."

"Stay," she said reaching out her hand, grabbing his jacket lightly. "I'll make you more tea. I'm not expecting anyone tonight."

Jane knew she'd been hitting on him. She was a beautiful and powerful woman, who'd been having affairs, and who liked attention, of course she wouldn't be able to help herself. And she was good at it. Still she'd gone just a little too far for his comfort.

He reached up and grabbed her hand, "Thank you for the tea." He lowered her hand, let go of it, and stepped away.

He was good at seducing woman, even though he didn't, but he was never sure what to do when women tried to seduce him. It always made him… awkward. He was completely flattered, but he couldn't. He smiled sheepishly, as he turned to leave.

"You'll be at the CBI tomorrow, won't you?" she asked from behind him.

He stopped and looked back at her. "Probably," he told her, about to leave again when a thought popped into his head. "Can I have one of those yellow roses?" he asked.

She was surprised by his question but nodded.

* * *

Jane drove to the Mayor's office knowing he'd be working late. The only way Aria could've had affairs in such a blatant way without being caught would've had to be due to her husband working late hours. It wasn't even that late now.

His mind suddenly drifted to Lisbon. He knew she would be pissed by what he was about to do, but he had to see what this man's honest to goodness reaction was to his questions. Not the rehearsed reaction he'd have prepared by the time they brought him in. He decided to make it quick. In and out. He'd ask one question… two at the most. Lisbon could hardly begrudge him that.

Jane walked up to the cute young receptionist who was sitting at a desk in front of the mayor's office and tapped on the desk to get her attention off the phone. She looked up at him and gave him a forced smile, then lifted a finger asking for a minute. He looked through the glass walls that led into the office and saw Mayor Franklin doing paper work behind his desk. Jane pulled his CBI card out of his vest and showed it to the girl who was still completely invested in her conversation. He could hear someone yelling at her and felt a little bad for her.

"Yes, I understand that you want to talk to him, but he's not available right now" she said. Jane felt his brow rise as he looked back at the mayor then at her. She shrugged, and he rolled his eyes. She smiled, then continued talking. Jane was liking the mayor less and less. He didn't treat his wife well, and now, here he was making this poor girl do his dirty work for him. He'd had it. He stepped around her desk and to the door.

"Wait," she called after him as he stepped into the office.

The Mayor looked up at him as the flustered receptionist, quickly set the phone down and rushed in after him.

"Can I help you," the mayor asked angrily looking at the receptionist and not at Jane.

Jane regarded her worried face. "Yes, I'm with the CBI. I need to ask you some questions about the murder of David Cane."

Both the Mayor and the receptionist looked at him when he said that.

"Thank you January, you can go," the mayor told the receptionist in a haughty tone.

"She tried to stop me," Jane defended her, "but she was too busy trying to calm down an angry constituent that you wouldn't talk to," Jane told him mercilessly.

The Mayor plastered a fraudulent smile on his face. "I thought you were here to discuss David Cane—not how I run my office."

"Yes, that's true," Jane conceded as he stepped forward. "I only have a couple of questions. Why did your wife file the restraining order against him?"

"She said she was seeing him around a lot and that he was making her uncomfortable. He was a young man, and for that I am sorry about his death, but I am not sorry that he won't be harassing my wife anymore." His voice was calm and controlled. A politician through and through.

"Hmm," Jane thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of asking his next question. He had to admit, it didn't look good for the pro side. "Did you know that David had been spying in your house with a telescope?"

"No!" The mayor shouted. "He what?"

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Interesting."

The mayor looked as if it were the first time he'd been caught off guard sense Jane had entered his office.

Jane smiled. "Thank you," he said reaching his hand out to the mayor, which the mayor took. Jane smiled. "You've been very helpful." He turned and retreated from the office quickly.

* * *

**A/N: Can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter. I have to admit that it was a bit of nightmare. The scenes where Jane and Lisbon are together are my favorite, even in the show. Which is why I threw the dream in. I knew that he was going to have to be away for a bit for this section to work, but it was hard to write! Felt like it took forever. I hope it was still enjoyable.**


	6. Just for Tea

**A/N: Hey all, thanks for your reviews, favorites and follows! I'm glad so many people are enjoying my story. Really quickly, I want to thank Canterlevi for volunteering to proof read and then actually proof reading this chapter. It's much appreciated!**

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Chapter 6 Just For Tea

Lisbon's eyes fluttered open. She stretched and reached for her alarm clock. It was 6:52am. She hadn't slept well last night, but she'd gotten a few hours and there were no nightmares. For that she was grateful. She stretched again and sat up. She was about to stand when she remembered why she hadn't been sleeping well. Jane hadn't shown up yesterday. She sank back into her pillows a little. She didn't want to think about the fact that he might not show up again today. But if she was being honest with herself it was the reason she hadn't slept well.

She scowled as she kicked her blankets down and straightened out the jersey that she'd been sleeping in. She swung her feet off the bed, stood up, walked over to the mirror hanging from her door and took in her appearance. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was all tussled and way out of control. She'd obviously been tossing and turning all night. She tried not to think about the last time he'd gone missing. It had started very similarly to this.

Suddenly she felt very tired again. The frown lines between her brows deepened, and she lost all desire to do anything. She walked back over to her bed and lay back down on her pillow. She pulled the covers up with her toes until she could reach them with her hands, the pulled them the rest of the way up and over her head. She closed her eyes and settled back. She decided she was going to go in late today.

Jane walked into CBI HQ at 8:00am on the dot, yellow rose in hand. He knew Lisbon was going to be upset with him about yesterday, and decided it wouldn't be wise to push his luck by being even a minute late. He went straight to the kitchen where he pulled out a little vase he'd seen before from one of the cupboards. He filled it with water and lovingly placed his rose in the vase before taking another whiff of it.

He then prepared himself a cup of tea, and headed over to his couch with tea and flower in his hands. He sat his rose on the edge of his desk and sat down on his couch. He allowed himself to sink down in to it even more as he took a sip of his tea.

"Finally decided to grace us with your presence," Rigsby said with a hint of a joke in his tone as he passed Jane heading to his desk.

Jane smiled. "Good morning to you too."

Grace walked in shortly after. "Nice rose," she said with a slightly stunned expression.

"Thank you." Jane took another sip of his tea.

"Is it for Lisbon?" Grace asked with a wry smile as she sat at her desk. Jane's eyes widened as Rigsby let out a chuckle.

"Um, no." Jane told her with a little smile of his own. "It's for me. But since you ask, is Lisbon in need of roses?"

Grace flushed a little, looked quickly at Rigsby, then back at Jane. "No. No."

Jane's eyebrows rose questioningly. "Then why would you think I brought this rose for Lisbon?" He wanted to mess with her a bit.

"No reason. It's just you were gone yesterday…" She let her sentence trail off.

Jane knew that the team had wanted to broach the topic of his absence for a while, but here they were with a golden opportunity and all he got was a blushing Van Pelt and an avoidant Rigsby. Lisbon must have talked with them when he hadn't shown up yesterday.

"Yes, well, typically when one takes a day off they don't come into work," Jane said pointedly.

"Oh please. You didn't even call in," Rigsby said. He wasn't angry exactly, more pleased with himself that he got to call Jane out on something.

"Lisbon knew…" Jane started, but he was cut off by a third voice entering the bullpen.

"Then why did Lisbon spend the entire day staring at your couch?" Cho asked taking a seat at his desk.

Jane felt suddenly very pleased, but hid it well.

Grace smiled and turned away.

"Habit, I'm sure," Jane said. He couldn't help but notice a small smile at Cho's lips. It only lasted a second. "What is it Cho?"

Cho looked at him and for a moment Jane thought he might try and lie to him. "That was exactly what Lisbon said."

"You called her on it?" Jane was impressed that Cho would say something like that to her, and even more surprised that she had responded.

"Someone needed to," Cho said quietly as he looked at something on his computer. He knew that Cho would've been present for the "talk," but Cho was more rebellious than that. He'd stay mad until the end of the world if he decided to, but Jane didn't want that.

"I see," Jane said as he looked over the three of them. He stood up, sat his tea cup down next to his flower on his desk, then took a couple of steps toward Grace's desk and stopped. He turned to Rigsby and Cho shoving his hands into his pockets and scrutinized them quietly. Grace looked away from him uneasily and so did Rigsby. Cho very effectively ignored Jane.

"I know that you are all still mad at me for leaving," Jane finally said. "It was wrong to keep you in the dark and I am sorry."

They all looked abruptly at him as he apologized. Jane had to hold back a chuckle at their surprised faces. He meant what he was saying, more or less, and wanted them to know.

"It wasn't personal. I care about each of you very much, and it truly pains me that I've upset you. Whatever I need to do, or however much time it takes, I'll win back your trust. I promise you this." His thumb and pointer finger were held together and he jabbed them forward in emphasis of his promise.

"Thank you," Grace said sounding truly touched.

Rigsby even looked a little regretful at how they'd been acting.

Cho however, still wore his typical iceman expression. "What about Lisbon?"

"She knows I'm sorry." He stopped and tried to decide what it was he wanted to say. "Lisbon is a very special case—you see she has something that not many have." He paused for effect, "Total faith in me." He shrugged. "Who knows why?"

"Don't abuse it," Cho said coolly.

Jane pointed at Cho with a smile, "And there it is—finally. I will tell you what I told Lisbon. I have absolutely no intention of going anywhere. This is where I belong. This is where I will stay."

Rigsby and Van Pelt both smiled. Cho's face softened a little.

"Come on Cho, not even a little smile?" Jane asked in a playful tone.

"No," Cho said as he looked back down at his computer. Jane felt a little taken aback by his abruptness. Cho continued, "but it's good to have you back."

Jane clapped once cheerfully then rubbed his palms together. "Excellent!" He knew he hadn't won them back entirely, that would take time, but this was a good start. "Then are you ready to hear what I've discovered in the David Cane case?"

Their heads all whipped in his direction. His smile grew, they hadn't known he was still working the case, it made them a captive audience and that was his favorite kind.

* * *

Lisbon rolled out of bed shortly after nine am. She had taken a shower, gotten dressed, and had eaten breakfast. She knew she needed to go into work, but she wasn't ready to yet. She kept thinking about the interview they'd had with the David's father, Nathan, last night.

Everything pointed to him being guilty. Around the time of David's death, he had disappeared for an hour, then had turned back up. He and his wife had been at a fundraiser for his company and for other small companies in the area. His wife hadn't thought it suspicious that he had disappeared, because it was normal at these kinds of events.

Nathan Cane had been adamant that he'd been in a business meeting, but when they'd tried to find the witness there was no sign. Something about that didn't sit well with her. It didn't make sense that such a savvy business man would come up with such a horrible lie. They hadn't had enough to hold Nathan Cane and let him go last night.

She grabbed her gray leather jacket and put it on over her white button up blouse that she was wearing with jeans. She reached up with both hands and scooped her now presentable hair, she'd curled it to take up time, out from the inside of her jacket and let it fall over her shoulders.

She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to see where Nathan Cane worked. It was just a hunch, but it was one she hadn't been able to shake since they'd interviewed him last night. She clipped her badge onto her belt, holstered her gun, grabbed her keys and walked out her door. Besides, she wasn't ready to go into the office yet. She wasn't ready to be disappointed by Jane's absence again.

She momentarily thought about calling the team and letting them know what she was doing, but she'd given them assignments last night, and they didn't really need to know what she was doing. She wasn't even sure what she thought she was going to look for. She reached her car and got in. She slid the key into the ignition and felt the engine come to life. As she pulled out of her parking lot, she decided against it. She wasn't going to call them yet.

It wasn't long before she was walking up to Nathan Cane's shop. Only a few blocks from the Cane business the neighborhood had appeared to be a good one, but here was a different story. The buildings had graffiti all over them and a window two shops down had duct tape on it where she assumed a crack must have been. Still the streets were clean and there were families, children out and about. It seemed a strange juxtaposition, but she continued to the store without giving it another thought.

She had to admit to being surprised to see Nathan Cane working. It didn't look good for him. If he was grieving parent he should be with family, not at work. Then again, everyone dealt with stress in different ways. After Van Pelt had shot her fiancée she had needed to work. It was how she coped. Maybe this was the only way Nathan Cane could handle his son's death.

A little bell chimed as she stepped through the door. Nathan Cane's shop was a high end music shop, specializing in string instruments. Each string instrument was separated into different areas in the shop, violins, cellos, guitars, harps, etc. A little sign near the cash register caught her attention. It read: _Every instrument is hand made._ Mr. Cane was helping a customer at the register when he saw her. He nodded politely. She nodded back and started looking around. It only took him a minute before he found his way over to her.

"You have a very nice shop," Lisbon committed. "Do you play?"

"No, my wife does. She plays the cello and David plays…" his voice stuck in his throat, "played the violin." He swallowed and Lisbon could see a wave of emotion come over him.

She tried to be as objective as possible, but she was having a really hard time imagining this man killing his son.

"Have you found anything yet?"

Lisbon shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Actually I was hoping you could tell me about the man you had the meeting with again."

"We've already been over this!" He wasn't yelling, but his voice was definitely raised.

Lisbon put her hands out in a calming gesture. "And yet, we've got nothing on him."

"Is that supposed to be my fault?" his eyes were glimmering.

"All right, calm down, and let's just go over this again. You said that you met at the fundraiser?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes," he said. She nodded slightly urging him to continue, and he did, "My wife and I were standing at the bar in the hotel, he came over to us, and told me that he would be interested in hearing more about our company and a possible donation of funds. We talked for a minute longer then he said he wanted a coffee and invited me with him. My wife stayed in case there was anyone else who might be interested in discussing the company while I was gone. We went to the little coffee shop around the corner, but it was closed. So we talked outside for the better part of an hour. I gave him all of my contact information and he gave me his name: Martin Black. I returned to the fundraiser and he left. Said he had business elsewhere to take care of. This was all around nine-thirty pm."

"Describe his appearance to me again," Lisbon asked.

"About six feet tall, tan, with shoulder length blond hair that he had pulled back into a ponytail. Blue eyes. He was wearing a gray suit. He was thin, but well built."

"Did he have any scars, or moles, tattoos?"

He shook his head, "Not that I saw."

Lisbon shrugged, "Anything that might make him stand out?"

"Well, yeah, his eyes. They kind of looked like ice, you know. There were so blue."

Lisbon felt herself shrug. Blue eyes weren't exactly something to go by, at least not for her anyway. Jane might have been able to derive something from it, but since he wasn't here… "Did you talk about anything other than your company?"

Nathan shook his head at first, then his eyes lit up unexpectedly, "Actually, he did mention that he would help me put a stop to the buy-out."

Lisbon's eyebrows rose. "Buyout?"

"Yes, the city has been trying to buy several companies in the area. They want to level them and build a park. It has something to do with making the city greener. I was surprised that he knew about it, it's only in the beginning stages. Only a few companies have been made offers." He crossed his arms, uncomfortably. "I was told that they weren't even going to announce it unless they had enough acceptances."

"Has anyone accepted?"

He shook his head, "Not that I know of."

"You'd think with the vandalism around here, more people would want to sell."

"That's just the thing. Until about a month ago there was no vandalism. Then a couple of weeks before the original offers were made, this happens," he signaled to the paint on his window. We try not to cast aspersions, but you have to admit it looks suspicious."

It did look suspicious. "Who's in charge of the campaign?"

"I'm not sure who's running things, but I know it's an initiative of the Mayor's office."

Lisbon smiled lightly. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Thank you. You've been very helpful."

* * *

Jane watched Grace interview Aria Franklin from behind the two way mirror. She was having no success. Jane had expected as much. Aria's charm was infallible with men, but when it came to women she was lacking. Jane suspected she could use her charm on women if she wanted, but she didn't, she had no use for them. He watched as Grace got up and left after watching Aria pull out a compact mirror to reapply makeup in response to a question. Jane couldn't help but chuckle, as he rushed to the door and stuck his head out just as Van Pelt was about to walk by.

"Grace," he called to her.

She stopped and walked back to Jane. "That woman is ridiculous. I can't get her to give me one straight answer."

"I know, I've been watching."

"It's like talking to a Barbie, totally one-sided, yet she still manages to look down her nose at you," Grace huffed.

Jane couldn't help but smile a little. "Tell Rigsby to go in."

"Well, she wants to talk to you. The one thing she did manage to tell me, before powdering her nose, was that she'd talk to no one else."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," he told her causing her to give him a questioning look. "She'll talk to Rigsby."

Van Pelt shrugged he shoulders. "Okay," she said before heading back to the bullpen.

Jane went back to the two way mirror, crossed his left arm across his chest, and lifted his right hand rubbing the tips of his fingers together. He watched as Aria stood up and walked over to the mirror and began fixing her hair. When she finished she seemingly looked through the glass, waved and blew a kiss.

Jane smiled. She was definitely cheeky, this one.

It was only a minute later that Rigsby walked in, with a file in his hand. He sat down and watched her with a serious expression until she moved to her chair and sat down as well. But a smile had crossed her lips the moment she saw Rigsby. Jane knew that the flirting would begin any minute.

Rigsby went through the formalities and dove in to the questioning. Jane became quickly amused as he saw that Rigsby wasn't doing much better than Grace had done. Aria was at least talking to Rigsby, but she wouldn't stay on topic. All the information he was able to get, Jane had already gotten from her the day before. It wasn't until Rigsby brought up her affair that something occurred to Jane that he hadn't thought of before.

"How many people are you currently having an affair with?" Rigsby asked, his pen at the ready.

"Is that really relevant?" she asked with a flirty smile.

Rigsby ignored it. "Potentially, yes."

"Just the one," she told him almost in a pout. "John Aft."

Rigsby looked down at his pad and jotted down her answer, as he asked her another. "And how often do you see John Aft?"

She sighed heavily, displeased that Rigsby wasn't flirting back. "Any night when my husband is gone, so let's see, that'd be—every night."

"Was he with you the night of the murder?"

Jane already knew the answer to that. He quickly left the viewing room and made his way into the interrogation room.

Aria had managed to steer the conversation around again, "John was never a keeper," she told Rigsby. "Do you have plans tonight?"

Rigsby looked up at her with a confused expression just as Jane came into the room. He stood with the door propped open.

"Don't bother with him," Jane said, "he's in a relationship and just about as loyal as they come."

She frowned a little, but quickly smiled again as she looked Jane over. "That's fine. I think I'd rather have dinner with you and your cute three piece suit," she told him.

Rigsby's brow furrowed, as they spoke about him like he wasn't there.

"You said you were alone the night of the murder," Jane asked.

"Yes, but what does…," she began.

"You're husband wasn't home?"

"No. He was working late as usual," she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Jane looked at her pensively for a moment. "Why wasn't John with you then?"

Rigsby looked between the two quizzically. Aria gave Jane a questioning look.

"You said that he's over every time your husband's not." Jane pointed at her. "So why wasn't he with you?"

"He said he'd made other plans."

Rigsby caught on and jumped in with a question of his own. "Was it normal for him to cancel on you?"

Aria shook her head. "You don't think John had anything to do with this do you?"

"We're not at liberty to discuss that Ma'am," Rigsby told her.

Jane jumped in. "Aria, you can go home now. You've been most helpful," Jane told her.

She began to stand, "Great."

Rigsby shook his head and motioned for her to stay in her seat with his left hand. "No, you can't leave."

She sat back down and gave Jane a pleading look.

"But she's innocent," Jane argued in his know-it-all manner.

"She has no alibi for the night of David's death and has motive," Rigsby told Jane firmly.

"But I didn't kill him. I couldn't," Aria said desperately.

"You have to stay," Rigsby stood up and walked to the door.

Aria gave Jane one more pleading look before he shrugged and let the door close.

"You don't really think she killed him, do you?" Jane asked following Rigsby back to the bullpen.

"No, I don't, but there is due process. I can't just let her go," Rigsby told Jane as his cell phone rang. He grabbed it and lifted it up looking at his caller ID. "It's Lisbon."

"Hey," Jane put his hand on top of the cell phone for a split second stopping him from answering. "Don't tell Lisbon about where I went yesterday. I want to wait and see how some things pan out first." He stuck his right hand into his right vest pocket.

Rigsby gave him and exasperated look then answered his phone. "Hey Boss." He turned and headed for the bullpen.

Jane waited until Rigsby was around the corner, then slowly backed up to the interrogation room. He opened the door, and peeked in looking at Aria. "Okay, you can go."

"What?" Aria asked.

He stood up a little taller and planted a confused look on his face. "Unless you want to stay here?"

She shook her head as she stood up and walked to the door. "No, definitely not. Unless, of course, I could convince you…"

Jane smiled coyly. "Yes. I'll meet you at your house in a couple of hours. How does that sound?" He led her away from the interrogation room and to the elevator as they spoke.

"Really?" she asked before biting her bottom lip.

"Just for tea," Jane told her before guiding her quickly into the elevator.

"Well I guess that's better than nothing." She gave him a little wave just as the elevator doors shut.

* * *

**A/N: This is the last chapter that Jane and Lisbon will not be appearing together in. Promise. Hang in there. I promise the end result will be worth it on a few different levels.**


	7. The Ultimate and Indifferent Bachelor

**A/N: Thanks again to Canterlevi for proofreading my story. You're awesome.**

* * *

Chapter 7 The Ultimate and Indifferent Bachelor

Lisbon held her cell phone between her ear and her neck as she parked her car in front of the City County Building. "Do you think Aria's involved?" she asked Rigsby.

"No. I don't, but she does have opportunity and motive," Rigsby told her.

"Hmm." She thought about it for a moment. "I'm surprised her lawyers aren't there already. Keep her as long as you can. I want to talk to her," she said as she got out of her car.

"Will do," Rigsby voice muffled a little and Lisbon could hear talking in the background. "Hold on Boss, Cho wants to talk to you."

She started walking toward the city county building as she heard Rigsby's phone being shuffled into other hands then she heard Cho. "I found a witness at the fundraiser who claims to have seen a guy in a gray suit with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes."

Lisbon knew she shouldn't, but she felt relieved. David's father hadn't been lying. "Get a full statement. Also, go get Aria's lover. I'll be in the office in an hour, hour and half and I want him there before I get back," Lisbon told Cho.

"Sure thing boss," he said before they both hung up.

Lisbon walked into the building. She had wanted to avoid this, but if she was right then it wouldn't matter anyway.

The young receptionist led her into Mayor Franklin's office quickly. The mayor was sitting at his desk with his hands resting on either side of a pad of paper. He gave the receptionist an approving smile. She stepped quickly out of the office shutting the door behind her.

"Mayor Franklin, I'm Agent Lisbon with the CBI." She lifted her badge for him to see. "I have some questions concerning the murder of David Cane."

"You people sure are pushy aren't you," he told Lisbon in an irritated voice.

Lisbon smiled softly. If he'd been referring to the inquiries they'd made the other day then sure, she'd own up to being pushy. "We do what we can," she told him before taking a seat in a chair directly across from the mayor and crossed her legs. She wasn't really sure what had come over her, saying something like that to the Mayor.

He squared his shoulders and glared at her. "What do you want now?"

"Did you know your wife was having an affair?" she asked calmly.

His lips pursed. "Outrageous lies…"

He knew about the affair and she wasn't interested in his fabrications. She tapped the arm of her chair with her pointer finger. "How long have you been in office? Ten years?"

He looked surprised, but answered her question anyway. "Twelve."

"Yeah, that's right."

"What is the relevance of this?"

"I remember when you took office. Everyone thought you were so idealistic, that you'd bring about a positive change. Until half way through your second term…" She waited for what she was saying to sink in.

He leaned back in his chair lacing his fingers together and gave her a wicked smile. "You're referring to the illegal surveillance tapes that were found. The ones the media tried to pin on me."

Lisbon fought back the urge to roll her eyes. "Everyone knew it was you, proof or no, it was obvious. They let it slide because the surveillance helped catch a murderer."

"You have an excellent memory, Agent Lisbon."

"A friend of mine worked the case," she told him mollifying his desire for an explanation. "I know you know about your wife's affair. Someone with your taste in women and surveillance would know. So I need you to tell me the name and any other information you have on the guy who has been trailing her."

"Get out of my office," he said in cold voice.

She leaned forward. "If you don't give it to me, then I can't promise that the media won't find out about him once I do," she spoke calmly, "or about your wife's affair, or about how you've been trying to strong arm small businesses, like Nathan's Canes, into selling so you can try and 'please' what's left of your constituency. And there won't be a murder to save your hide this time."

She watched as his face went ten different shades of red ending on hot chili pepper. He reached for a pen and paper and jotted something down, and handed it to her. "That's all I have."

She looked down at it and found a name and e-mail address. "Thank you," she told him before standing and leaving the room.

* * *

Jane stepped out of his car, walked around the front and leaned against the hood. It was a hot day. The sun streamed down and hit his face warming it. He closed his eyes and relished the feel of it. He wasn't particularly interested in seeing his plan through, but he knew it'd work. Besides, he liked Aria and he did feel a little bad that he had to deceive her. She was seriously misguided, but he suspected that she had somehow ended up in this downward spiral and hadn't figured out how to get out of it again. Maybe he could help with that. He took off his jacket, and draped it over his arm, then slowly started for her door. Before he reached the porch Aria was out of the house and down the steps.

"I was afraid you'd changed your mind," she told him.

"With something as tempting as your tea waiting for me," he told her in mock horror, "Never."

She smiled before grabbing his arm and leading him up the steps and into her house. Jane couldn't help but smile before she shut the door, noticing a navy blue Toyota Camry parking just up the street from the house.

* * *

Lisbon took a deep breath before getting off the elevator. She stuck her hands protectively in her front jean pockets. She had admirably managed not to think about Jane most of the day, but as she stepped out of the elevator the anticipation of whether or not he'd be there made her sick to her stomach. She rounded her office and walked into the bullpen. No Jane. She hadn't realized how much she wanted him to be there until she saw that he wasn't. Her heart sank.

Then she noticed something yellow out of the corner of her eye. She turned to Jane's desk, and there in a little vase was a huge yellow rose. She felt the corner of her lip twitch up. She looked around the bullpen, before walking over to his desk, leaning down and smelling the rose. It was so sweet. She felt her smile getting bigger.

_He's here, _she thought. A sense of relief washed over her as she stood to her full height again. She took a deep breath, feeling like she had been holding it all this time and felt her muscles relax. She looked into the kitchen, but he wasn't there.

"He left about half an hour ago," Van Pelt's voice said.

Lisbon put her serious face back on and turned to the redhead who was now taking a seat at her desk. "Jane? Do you know where he went?" She needed to ask, but frankly she didn't really care. He hadn't disappeared again, and that was all that mattered.

"No," Van Pelt said sounding exasperated.

"What did he do?"

_He disappears for a day, and when he comes back he's already starting trouble. _

Rigsby and Cho came in and went to their desks. Cho began riffling through some things.

"He let Aria leave," Rigsby said.

Cho made his way over to her. "Aria's lover, John Aft, is in interrogation room one," he told her as he handed over a file. "He had some misdemeanors, but he's a few cymbals short of a band. I don't really think he's smart enough to have pulled something like this off."

Lisbon tried not to laugh at Cho's description. "Great." She pulled out the paper that Mayor Franklin had written on, and handed it to Van Pelt. "This is the name and e-mail for the mayor's P.I. The name more than likely won't be real, but see if you can't track an address down to go with his e-mail address.

"Right, I'm on it." Van Pelt took the paper and began typing.

Lisbon in turn took the file and headed for the interrogation room. When she walked in she immediately noticed John Aft's hand drop from his brown hair. He'd been tugging on it.

"Mr. Aft, I'm agent Lisbon, I just have a few questions for you. It shouldn't take too long," she said as she sat down. "Did you know David Cane?"

"I only knew that Aria's husband made her put a restraining order on the boy. Other than that, no. I don't understand why you would need to talk to me about this." His voice was practically shuddering.

"Well for one, you have motive, two you don't have an alibi for the night of the murder and three your whole presence screams guilty."

He shot her a panicked look, "I didn't kill him."

She waved off his outburst, "Maybe not, but you are hiding something. That's plain as day."

He reached up and grabbed a lock of hair again.

"If you know something concerning this case and don't tell us, I will arrest you for obstruction, and trust me, obstruction in a murder case will have you longing for the days of misdemeanors."

"I don't know anything!" he yelled, bringing his fists to the table in a loud thud. Lisbon could care less about his outburst as she noticed something in John Aft's eyes. Her mind began piecing the puzzle together.

* * *

Jane took a sip of his tea, before he spoke, "Wasn't it just a couple of hours ago that you were hitting on my co-worker?"

"I was trying to make you jealous." She took a sip of her own tea. "I knew you were behind the glass."

He raised his eyebrow mockingly, "You did?"

"Of course. You knew I was coming in, where else would you be? Besides Agent Rigsby isn't even my type. I prefer blondes with blue eyes," she winked at him, as he put his tea down.

He normally would've come up with some witty comeback to her remark, but something had just occurred to him. "Your lover…"

"Ex-lover," she corrected him.

"He has brown hair. I saw it through the telescope."

"He had blond hair. He dyed it the other day. Said he wanted a change," she sounded unimpressed.

Jane scrunched his eyebrows together. He'd just figured out who the father had had his meeting with. It made sense. The mayor had probably confronted him and had blackmailed him into to doing it so the father wouldn't have an alibi. Still, there was the issue of the Mayor's airtight alibi.

"Me too I guess," she reached out and sticking her right hand pointer finger under his vest at his shoulder, effectively pulling Jane out of his thoughts.

He looked down at her hand, then reached up and grabbed it, removing it from his vest. "I am flattered," he told her, "but you shouldn't be doing this."

"Doing what?" She rubbed her thumb over his hand.

"Aria," he gave her a disapproving look. "Throwing yourself at men like this. You don't have to be like this. Unhappy. You're better than this. Get a divorce, find something meaningful to do with your life, and stay away from controlling men. You can make a difference without your husband, and you can be the girl your parents," he pointed to a photo on the fridge, "think you are." He was saying the perfect things. Things she longed to hear. It was practically reprehensible.

She smiled up at him through her lashes, "Who do they think I am?" She liked it when he read her, and it almost made him want to stop. Almost, but it was like an addiction, he had received an open invitation, he had to plow on.

He sat her hand down on the table, but kept a hold on it. "Not this. Not the kind of woman that marries men she doesn't love, whilst having affair after affair. You are the kind of woman that marries a good man, and does it for love."

She smiled at him wickedly. "A good man… like you?"

This conversation was going downhill fast. Just then Jane noticed something on her arm that she had hidden with her blouse. A bruise.

"Aria," he voice was filled with concern as he reached up to her arm, pushed her sleeve up a little and rubbed his thumb gently over the mark.

* * *

Lisbon leaned forward and stared into Mr. Aft's eyes. He looked at her uncomfortably, then looked away. "Mr. Aft, are you wearing contacts?"

"No," he told her being careful to keep his eyes on the table.

"I have enough to hold you for the next forty-eight hours before charging you. And believe me I will, and I will make it my personal crusade to make sure that the full measure of the law is brought down on you if you don't cooperate." She watched him squirm. "If you have information now's the time to share."

He looked up from the table and into her eyes, then lifted his right hand to his eyes, removing his contacts. When he looked up and into her eyes again this time it was through crystal blue eyes. Cho was right. This guy was absolutely a few cymbals short of a band.

"Word of advice, Mr. Aft, disguise yourself to commit a crime, not after the fact."

He looked at her nervously. "I got a call the other night. I was told that if I didn't do this, pictures of me and Aria would be all over the paper the next day. I normally wouldn't care if people found out, but Franklin's a scary guy, powerful. If the company I work for had gotten a call from him, that would've been it. The end of my career. So, I did it. That's it. That's all I know. Can I go now?"

"No. You can't. You lied to us Mr. Aft, withheld information in a police investigation, information that could lead to the killer," her voice was severe.

"I don't know who killed him," he wrung his hands together nervously.

"You didn't think it was suspicious that the mayor called you and asked you to do this," his face dropped as she continued, "after you found out about David's death?"

"The mayor never called me." He looked more confused than ever.

"Then who called you?" she asked, she could feel her patience wearing thin. Her foot tapped under the table.

"I don't know."

Lisbon looked at him thoughtfully then stood up and walked out of the room and to the bullpen. Van Pelt was heading towards her and turned and fell in step with her. "I have a location for the e-mail address. You'll never believe this, but it's only a couple houses up from the Mayor's house."

"At this point I absolutely can." They entered the bullpen and Lisbon looked over at Cho. Cho, get Mr. Aft's statement, then charge him for obstruction," she ordered.

Cho nodded.

"Van Pelt, you're coming with me." Lisbon shook her head as she headed toward her office.

"What about me boss," Rigsby asked from his desk as she passed.

She stopped, looked at him for a moment while deciding what to do. Rigsby fidgeted a little under her stare. She was missing something, something crucial to the case, something she couldn't see even though it was right under her nose. She hated to admit it, especially after the last couple of days, but she knew they needed Jane. She pointed to his couch and could feel a scowl coming on. "Find Jane."

Lisbon immediately saw the light blue Citroen parked outside the mayor's house as they drove past it and up the street. She shook her head. How many times had he beaten her to a suspect?

Van Pelt stopped the SUV and parked a few feet away from a dark blue Camry. Van Pelt pulled out the GPS and pointed to it. According to this the IP address is coming from that car. Some kind of wireless router? That's pretty high tech."

Lisbon looked out at it. It was empty. The two of them got out of the car, walked over to it, and looked in. There were a couple of camera bags, a computer along with other high tech equipment inside. Lisbon looked away from the car and down toward the mayor's house.

"Boss, look," Van Pelt said gesturing to something in the car.

Lisbon eyes followed the direction Van Pelt was pointing and saw an empty gun holster in the back seat. Her head flew back to the mayor's house.

"Crap," she said. She leaned down and pulled the cap off the air nozzle from one of the tires. "Van Pelt, do you have a bobby pin?" she asked looking up at her.

"Yeah, why?" Van Pelt asked reaching into her hair and pulling out a bobby pin. She handed it down to Lisbon.

"If he tries to run, it's doubtful he'll want to leave without all his gadgets. At very least it'll give us a moment." She inserted the bobby pin and the air from the tire quickly began to hiss out.

"Good thinking," Van Pelt said as Lisbon let out the rest of the air.

Lisbon stood up and walked the house, Van Pelt fell in step with her. "Go around the back of the house, I'll go through the front door, and keep your eyes open, he'll be hard to spot."

Lisbon watched as Van Pelt quickly made her way around the house with her gun in hand. When she rounded the corner, she pulled out her own gun and made her way up the steps and to the front door, noticing the yellow roses as she went. She felt a little pang of frustration upon seeing the roses for some reason, but continued to the door. She reached for the handle and slowly turned the knob. It opened. She stepped around the door quietly, and brought it slowly back to the frame, not letting it shut.

She made her way quietly though through the main entrance and to the hallway. It was so silent that she was afraid her breathing would give her away. Then suddenly she heard a loud thud from the back of the house followed by a yelp that could only have come from Jane.

Her breath hitched before she quickly ran down the hall and into the kitchen.

She rounded the corner and spotted Jane. His back was to a cupboard and his hands were in the air, one was holding a spoon. Aria had him pinned there and was kissing him. His eyes were wide open and he was gently trying to push her off. Lisbon's shoulders shrugged as Jane saw her.

"Lisbon," he said through an awkward kiss. "It's not what it looks like. I can… explain."

Lisbon might have laughed at how funny the scene was and Jane's reaction to her finding him like that, like she'd caught him cheating, if she hadn't been unexpectedly struck with aggravation. Was this what he'd been doing while she was panicking?

"Jane, where have you been?" she demanded as she lowered her gun.

His face looked hurt. "Working the case."

"You're working something all right," she couldn't hide the venom in her voice.

Aria had somewhat detached herself from Jane and was now looking at Lisbon. "Who are you?" She was irritated, but as far as Lisbon was concerned she could get in line.

Unexpectedly, Lisbon saw a flash of light from outside, directly behind where Jane and Aria stood. She raised her gun again, pointing it through the space between them. Both Aria and Jane's faces dropped.

"Now Lisbon, there's no need to be like that." His voice went from being patronizing to confused as she walked past them to the sliding doors.

She opened them and aimed her gun into the trees. "I know your there. Come out," she said loudly. She heard some rustling, then another voice.

"Stand up and put your hands behind your head," Van Pelt ordered.

Lisbon kept her gun aimed at the perpetrator, as Van Pelt cuffed and searched the short hairy man that had been taking pictures of Jane and Aria from the bushes.

"I have permission from the owner to be on this property," he said.

Van Pelt removed a gun from the back of his pants. "But do you have a permit to carry?" she asked.

"I want an attorney," he said looking away obstinately.

"What is going on here?" Aria demanded, as Van Pelt nudged the man toward the sliding glass door where Lisbon stood.

"This guy," Jane said pointing at the man with the spoon he was holding, "has been taking pictures of your uh… little indiscretions, to sell to your husband," Jane told her calmly.

Aria smiled and put out her palm for him to give her the spoon, which he did with a smile.

Lisbon couldn't help but be irritated that Jane knew that. "'Little' my…" Lisbon voice trailed off quietly.

Aria looked at Lisbon and narrowed her eyes. "So what? I'm divorcing him," she told Lisbon defensively before smiling up at Jane. "So, if you wouldn't mind taking him and leaving us alone that would be appreciated." She directed her last statement at Lisbon.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and Van Pelt scoffed.

Jane looked uncomfortably at Lisbon, before removing Aria's hand from his shirt. "No, not us."

"Van Pelt, take him to the car," Lisbon nodded at the suspect. Van Pelt headed off, then Lisbon turned to Jane. "Jane, it's time to go," she said in a very motherly tone.

Aria threw a dirty look at her and pointed the spoon at her threateningly. "Are you two together?" she demanded.

Lisbon's chin went back. Was this woman really pointing a spoon at her?

"Aria, stop," Jane said grabbing the spoon from her as he moved protectively in front of Lisbon.

Lisbon couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. Apparently he could be brave when a spoon was the threatening object, but pull a gun or knife and he was hiding behind her. Her hero.

"You are," Aria gulped. "I'm so stupid, I should've known." She sounded humiliated. "Guys like you aren't single."

Lisbon eyes widened in shock, this woman obviously didn't know any men like Jane; the ultimate and indifferent bachelor. She pushed the uncomfortable and weaseling thought of Lorelei back.

Jane smiled at Aria's words and he kindly patted her on the shoulder. Aria responded by burying her face into his chest. Jane's smile quickly vanished, as he looked over at Lisbon for help. "Lisbon…" he said pleadingly.

"You know what Aria…" Lisbon finally spoke, her voice full of sympathy. Jane's face relaxed as she did. "I was just about finished with him anyway, so you go ahead and keep him." The sarcasm in her statement was thick. She patted Aria kindly on the shoulder mimicking Jane then gave him a dirty look as she passed him and headed out the door. Aria looked up at Jane hopefully, but his eyes were following Lisbon out the door.

"Wait, Lisbon," he called after her. "Lisbon!"


	8. All in a Days Work

**A/N: I was so glad that the last chapter had such a nice reception. I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations! **

**A big thank you to Canterlevi for proofreading my chapter. You are wonderful as always!**

* * *

Chapter 8 All in a Day's Work

The sun was setting as Lisbon walked quickly out to the SUV where Van Pelt had already loaded the suspect. She saw Lisbon and came around the car. "That was weird."

"You're telling me," Lisbon replied shoving her hands in her front jean pockets.

"I called Rigsby and let him know we found Jane," Van Pelt told Lisbon who looked back uncomfortably at the house. "Do you want me to go in and get him?"

"No," Lisbon looked back at Van Pelt, raised a hand to stop her. "We are not his babysitters. He got himself into that mess he can get himself out," she said firmly.

"I thought…" Van Pelt began when her attention was suddenly pulled to something behind Lisbon.

"Lisbon!" Jane's voice found her ears before she'd finished turning to see what Van Pelt was looking at. He looked irritated and confused, causing Lisbon to fight back a smirk. Jane continued, "What was that about?"

Lisbon faced him full on. "Jane? Is that you?" She squinted. "I almost didn't recognize you without a woman draped all over you."

"Lisbon!" Jane said shocked.

Van Pelt stifled a laugh.

"What," she retorted. "That's the second time this week a woman has asked me for more time alone with you." She wore a serious expression. "I figured I should let this one have a shot."

"Okay, you're angry," he stopped in front of her, and stuck a hand in his pant pocket.

Lisbon rolled her eyes, and turned from him. "Come on Van Pelt," she said walking to the car.

Van Pelt quickly nodded and walked around to the driver's side as Lisbon opened her door and started to get in.

"Lisbon, wait." He followed her to the car.

"I'm not angry," she said quickly, "I'm busy. Trying to solve a murder _if_ you remember?"

He hunched down a little to look her square in the eye. She flinched back feeling her space was being encroached upon. "You're angry," he said as Van Pelt got in the car and looked awkwardly at the two of them. "And we'll talk about it later, but right now we have a murderer to catch. Come on." He stood back again and motioned her to follow him.

"We have the murderer, don't we?" she asked feeling confused.

Jane shook his head.

She glared, but looked back at Van Pelt. "You got him?" she asked signaling to the suspect with her head.

Van Pelt nodded. "Yeah."

"She's got him, she's got him," Jane said excitedly grabbing Lisbon's arm to hurry her, making her scowl more deeply. He shut the car door once she was clear and grabbed her elbow. She pulled away sharply, causing him to raise his hands in surrender while making a childish face. She glowered at him and stomped off toward his car over Aria's grass, with him at her heel.

* * *

Jane knew the car ride would be miserable if he didn't keep Lisbon talking, so that's exactly what he did. "How'd you know about the PI?"

"I threatened the mayor," Lisbon said sounding indifferent.

Jane's head whipped in her direction. "Lisbon, I didn't know you had it in you," he knew he sounded pleased.

"What can I say? This case is making me cranky." She kept her eyes out the window.

Jane knew it wasn't the case that was making her cranky. He looked back at the road. "I can't say I feel sorry for him. He's a miserable excuse for a human being."

"Where are we going?" Lisbon apparently didn't like his chosen topic of conversation anymore.

He was starting to feel a little discouraged. "The mayor's office."

Lisbon shook her head. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't suspect him, but you're forgetting his airtight alibi."

"I haven't forgotten it. There's just something off about the whole story," Jane could feel his brow scrunch.

Lisbon looked at Jane. "Off—how?"

"Why would the mayor send his PI to spy on his wife when he knew we were investigating?"

"Wait you think somebody else sent him?" Lisbon sat up in her seat and looked at Jane.

He nodded.

"Who?"

He shrugged.

She shook her head. "Okay. Surprise me," she said not sounding at all like she really wanted a surprise. She sat back in her seat. "By the way, how did _you_ know the mayor had a PI?"

"It was obvious. He's a control freak—politician, with a trophy wife. There was no way he wasn't going to have her followed," he looked at her from the corner of his eye. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask her, but he could see that she was at her wits end and there was another topic that he knew he needed to broach right then. "Aria took me by surprise, at the house," he pointed awkwardly behind him.

Lisbon chuckled under her breath. "Yeah right."

"I'm serious. One second I was stirring my tea and the next she had me pinned against the cabinets," he looked over at her, trying to gauge her reaction, but she was staring obstinately out the window again. "Lisbon," he said pacifyingly.

Finally she looked over at him. "I believe you. I did see your face after all. Besides she's not your type."

"How do you know what my type is?" he asked shocked by her statement. He didn't actually have a type, at least not that he'd ever considered in much depth, but he was amused by Lisbon's presumption.

She placed her elbow on the frame of the window turned and looked out the window again as she rested her head on her wrist. "She's not mysterious or a criminal. Kind of narrows things down, doesn't it?" He couldn't see her face, but he could hear the mirth in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Jane asked.

She looked back at him, "Oh, well let's see," she started counting them off on her fingers, "Jennifer Sands, Kristina Fry, Erica Flynn, Lorelei… and those are just the ones I know about."

Jane's brow furrowed in irritation. He didn't like this. Lisbon smirked ruthlessly and looked out the window again. Jane was not happy.

* * *

Jane couldn't help but notice an angry expression on the receptionist's face this time.

January stood up from her desk and put her hands out as she moved in front of the mayor's office door. "I'm sorry, but the mayor isn't taking meetings today."

Lisbon stepped toward her causing her to step back. "Either he talks to us now, or I'll go in, arrest him, and talk to him at the station. Your choice."

She gave Lisbon a dirty look.

Jane stepped forward and put a hand on Lisbon's shoulder. "I think now would be better for your career," Jane told the girl.

She looked like she wanted to tear them both to pieces but she stepped aside anyway. Lisbon noticeably shrugged Jane's hand off her shoulder as she walked in the office and Jane frowned. He noted that January had seen it. He followed close behind leaving the door open as they went in.

"You two!" The mayor barked as they walked in. "This is harassment. I will have your badges," he said as he stood.

Lisbon looked at Jane questioningly. He knew she was curious about how the mayor knew him.

He shrugged and looked at the mayor. "Uh, badge." He raised one finger. "I'm just a consultant," Jane corrected infuriating the mayor even more.

Lisbon returned her gaze to the mayor as well. "We found your P.I."

"Of course you did, because I cooperated with you." He crossed his arms protectively in front of himself.

"He was at your house taking pictures of your wife," Lisbon said. His face dropped. It was clear from his expression that he had no clue. "With this one," Lisbon nodded toward Jane—a hint of aggravation in her voice.

Jane's head whipped towards her, "Lisbon!"

"What?" The mayor looked as shocked as Jane.

"She's been having an affair with him," Lisbon plowed on, "got bored of the last one, I guess."

"Lisbon, what are you saying?" Jane asked looking scandalized. "That's not true."

"If this is true, not only will I have your badges, I'll make sure every lawsuit applicable will come down on your heads," the mayor threatened.

Lisbon mocked a hurt expression. "We'll in that case we might just have to get rid of the pictures. If there aren't any pictures then we can't get in trouble. At least I can't." She scowled at Jane. "You can do whatever you want with him…" She shoved her hands in her pockets.

The mayor glared at Jane, and Jane in return stepped away from Lisbon. "Lisbon, I know you're angry with me, but this is ridiculous. Tell him the truth."

"Which truth is that?" she said with a smirk. "The one where I walked in on the two of you making out, or the one where Aria threatened me with a spoon for trying to get you away from her?"

Jane's face dropped and he raised an accusing finger at Lisbon, "You are twisting the truth."

Lisbon eyes narrowed, "I couldn't care less if he knows what you've been doing with his wife, but you're not bringing me down with you. Not this time and certainly not over this."

Jane looked at Lisbon thoughtfully for a moment. "Lisbon are… are you jealous?"

"Oh please," Lisbon scoffed.

He pointed at her again. "You are!" he exclaimed delightedly.

"Could your ego get any bigger?" Lisbon asked scornfully with a raised eyebrow.

Jane smiled, "I may have a big ego, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong."

The mayor's head was whipping between the two of them. "All right enough!" he finally yelled. They both turned and looked at him. "I don't think you have pictures agent Lisbon. If you did, I'd know about it. You two are obviously in some sort of lovers spat and dragging me and my wife into it. I won't have it."

Lisbon's chin went back and she looked offended. Jane gave her an 'I told you so,' stare, but looked pleased that he'd won the argument.

"Mayor Franklin?" a small voice said. They all looked back at the door as January came in.

"Not now January," the Mayor snapped.

She came in anyway, her iPhone in her hand, and walked straight to the mayor. "I have the pictures, of him and your wife." She handed the phone over.

Jane's eyes dropped to the floor, his smile vanished. "I was hoping I was wrong about you January," he said.

Her eyes jumped to Jane. "What are you talking about?" she fumed.

The mayor was flipping through the pictures. He finally looked up and into Jane's eyes. "You bastard," he advanced toward Jane. Jane quickly took a step backwards as Lisbon placed herself between the two men.

"Relax," Lisbon said, "the pictures were staged."

"Nicely played Lisbon," Jane said smiling at her affectionately.

"Thank you," Lisbon said in return.

"I don't understand," the mayor said.

Lisbon looked at him begrudgingly and explained. "Jane had to create enough suspicion around himself and Aria to have her followed. He knew that the PI would send the pictures if he thought they were real. Jane had to make him think that he and Aria were really together, but he's not actually having an affair with your wife."

Jane looked at January again. She looked totally deflated. She'd played right into his hands. "Yes, I'll have to remember to thank Aria later," Jane said, intentionally trying to irk the mayor.

"Why the deceit?" the mayor asked.

"When I first met Aria, she confided in me that you had made her get the restraining order." Jane told him. "She didn't tell me why, but this afternoon, I noticed bruises on her arm. David saw you hit her through his telescope and confronted you about it."

"If you think you're going to pin his murder on me…" he seethed.

Jane ignored him. "I know you didn't kill him, why bother with the restraining order if you were just going to have him killed anyway. Plus a hit man would've killed him in a more succinct way, most likely with a gun. David was hit over the head with a dumbbell." Jane watched as January looked at her feet. "A crime of passion."

January looked into Jane's eyes, then turned and ran for it. Lisbon ran after her, catching her before she made it past her desk.

"Hold it," Lisbon said as she grabbed the girl, pinned her against her desk, pulled out her cuffs and started reading January her rights.

"January killed him?" The mayor was in shock.

"Yes," Jane said sadly. He stuck his right hand in his pocket, as he headed for the door.

"Wait," the mayor called from behind him. Both Jane and Lisbon turned and looked at him. "I assume that all of this will be kept confidential."

Jane's face dropped. He was about to tell him off when Lisbon beat him to the punch. "You abused your wife and your actions led to the death of an innocent boy who was merely trying to help. You may not be guilty of David's death, but I'm gonna make damn sure you never get office again!"

Jane smiled slightly. He liked it when Lisbon went on crusades.

January whimpered, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help you," she said to the mayor as Lisbon dragged her away.

* * *

Lisbon sat in the interrogation room with January. Rigsby stood behind her with his arms crossed. She figured Jane was hiding out somewhere in the building. He typically got bored at this point in a case. She didn't mind, as long as she knew where he was, and as long as he wasn't pestering her.

"We know you're responsible. Mike Phelps, the PI, told us everything. That he'd been receiving e-mails from the mayor's e-mail that you hacked through your phone; that he was paid to call John Aft and bribe him. He's given us everything. This is your last chance to tell your side of the story," Lisbon said.

January crossed her arms in front of her chest. "This was my first real job. Mayor Franklin was the only person willing to give me a shot. You don't know what the job markets like out there…" she trailed off. "Last week David came in. He told Mayor Franklin that he'd seen him hit Aria and that he was going to tell the media. That's when Mayor Franklin had his wife put out the restraining order, but it didn't matter. David said he was going to the media with pictures anyway. Mayor Franklin wasn't going to do anything about it." She sounded exasperated. "I knew Aria had been having an affair, so I got a hold of her lover and blackmailed him into faking a business deal with David's father. I knew it would work, because Mr. Cane has been desperate for cash ever since the vandalism started happening." She fiddled with her fingers. "I went to David's house that night. He was surprised to see me, but he let me in. I tried to convince him to drop it, but he wouldn't." She leaned back in her chair. "So I took care of it."

"You killed him," Rigsby said.

She nodded. "I really need this job, and the mayor has been kind to me."

"No job is worth a human life," Lisbon told her.

"Easy for you to say," she leaned toward Lisbon, "before I had this job, I was practically living on the streets, often wondering where my next meal was going to come from. If David had told the mayor would've lost his job and I would've been right back where I'd started."

Lisbon shook her head.

"Well you won't have to worry about meals in prison. The death penalty maybe," Rigsby told her. Her eyes glistened and for the first time she actually looked worried.

"Why did you have Mr. Phelps following Aria?" Lisbon asked.

She shrugged, and some of her fire returned. "Aria never deserved him. After David was dead I told Mr. Phelps to watch her. Mayor Franklin would be better without her and I wanted to prove it to him."

"Rigsby, book her," Lisbon said as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Wait." January sat up straight in her chair. "How did Mr. Jane know it was me?"

"He didn't…" Lisbon let her words sink in, "until you pulled out your phone."

January's face dropped.

Lisbon turned and left the room.

* * *

Jane waited for Lisbon to go into the interrogation room with January before heading down to the holding cell. He had to admit that Mike Phelps was clever. He'd made a good living for years doing this and didn't have so much as a parking ticket. The gun in his possession would've been his first offense if he hadn't been smart enough to make a deal that would get him off the hook. This was exactly the kind of man Jane needed. Clever, sly, good at getting out of precarious circumstances. He opened the door, catching Mr. Phelps' eye.

Mr. Phelps smiled. "The consultant slash home wrecker," Mr. Phelps prodded Jane ineffectively.

"Mr. Phelps, I want to talk to you about something," Jane said taking a seat.

"I've got nothing else to say to you people without an attorney present. I already gave you everything I had on the mayor and his little assistant."

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good, but that's not what I want to talk to you about." Jane told him brushing his remarks aside.

Mr. Phelps crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively and leaned back in his chair. "Then what do you want?"

Jane made eye contact and waited until he was sure he really had Mr. Phelps attention. He tapped his finger on the metal table between them. "I want to hire you."

* * *

Lisbon walked out of the interrogation room and to the bullpen. It was late. She was tired and was ready to go home. She was glad this case was over, or maybe she was just glad Jane was back… She could hear Cho and Jane talking before she saw them.

"Lisbon," Jane called when he saw her. "Cho was just telling me how you found out Aria's lover was the decoy. Very impressive." Jane wore a huge smile, and was sitting on the arm of his couch. Cho was seated at his desk.

She walked toward them and stopped just after Van Pelt's desk. "All in a day's work," she said shrugging and sounding almost bored.

"I wish I'd been there to see it," Jane told her wistfully.

Lisbon felt suddenly infuriated. Here he was talking like this when it'd been his fault he'd missed it in the first place. She thought she was hiding it well, but Jane's face dropped a little. She huffed quietly, hating that he could read her like an open book. Cho saw it as well.

She rolled her eyes as they both looked at her. "What?" She demanded placing her hands on her hips.

"Why are you still angry?" Jane asked sincerely. "We caught a killer, brought some closure to the victim's family; you threatened the mayor. All in all I'd say we've had a very successful couple of days."

"I'm not angry." Why couldn't he believe her just this once?

"It's because you left without telling her were you went," Cho said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Lisbon gaze jumped from Jane to Cho. "No," she said shaking her head.

"What about that dream you had the other day?" Cho asked, his face as serious as ever. Jane's head whipped to Cho, then back to Lisbon.

Her face was turning red. "Cho!"

"Lisbon, you had a dream about me?" Jane asked, a smile slowly spreading over his entire face.

"I did not say…" she looked at Jane awkwardly then stepped towards Cho, "It wasn't about Jane," she fabricated, while failing miserably to sound convincing. Jane's smile grew bigger.

"Then why'd you call out his name?" Cho asked plainly, his foot was tapping the floor just to the left of the desk leg.

"I…," she thought about her dream and tried to remember if that could possibly be true. "…did?" she asked.

"No," Cho said turning to his computer.

She looked between both men in the realization that she'd been had. "Ugh," she spat in exasperation as she threw her hands in the air.

"I'm flattered," Jane told her.

She threw a dirty look at Cho then looked at Jane. "It wasn't a good dream Jane," she said angrily as she turned her heel on both of them and stormed off to her office.

She heard Jane move off his couch causing it to squeak from the movement. She could hear his footsteps close behind her and picked up her own pace.

"Well what kind of dream was it, then?" Jane asked. Lisbon couldn't see his face, but she knew he was still smiling.

She took a deep breath as she entered her office and rounded her desk. "The kind that starts with you playing a practical joke on me, and ends with you getting your throat slit by Red John." No point in trying to hide her aggravation now.

Jane shut the door behind him as he entered her office, Lisbon watching. She wished he'd left it open. She really didn't want to talk about this and was starting to feel warm and claustrophobic.

"Well that's just silly, Lisbon," Jane told her stopping in front of her desk with serious expression on his face, "Red John would never kill me. You on the other hand…"

Lisbon grabbed a pencil and chucked it at him. He dodged it, but just barely. She wasn't really sure who was more shocked, her or him, but she tightened her jaw and narrowed her eyes as if she were daring him to challenge her.

"Hey," he yelped. "What are you doing?"

"Go away Jane," she said pointing at her door.

"Why would I do that? There's obviously an issue here," he said pointing at the floor, "that needs to be resolved."

"There's no issue," she said looking down at her desk in an attempt to hide her flush.

"Okay, well I don't believe you," Jane said with a know-it-all tone.

She looked up temporarily forgetting how warm her face felt, and how red it must look. "_You_ don't believe _me_," she couldn't believe the irony in those words.

"_You_ just threw a pencil at _me_," he mimicked the tone she just used on him.

Lisbon walked back around her desk, to her door and opened it. "Please. I don't want to talk to you."

Jane stuck his hands in his pockets obstinately, but didn't move from where he was standing. "Mm mm, Lisbon."

"Fine," she said, giving up. "Stay, if you must, but I have a lot of paper work to do." She let her door swing shut again and looked away from his stare.

"Teresa, were you really that worried?" The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard stopping her in her path back to her desk.

She turned in his direction. "Of course I was, Jane!" She was nearly yelling. "You're my friend and you have this insane way of getting yourself into trouble, and you ran away for six months!" She took a deep breath, calming herself. "Of course I was worried. I can't believe you even have the nerve to ask me that. What else was I going to be? You have this creepy meeting with Lorelei, get all moody, and then leave. No word, no nothing, just like last time." She looked down and shook her head.

Jane saw that her rant was over and took a step toward her. She lifted her hand effectively warding him off.

"Why didn't you tell me you felt this way?" he asked.

She could hear the surprise in his voice. She'd told him before just had worried she'd been during his absence, but he apparently hadn't really understood, until right now. She wasn't even sure she wanted him to understand.

"Because it's irrelevant," she told him. As far as she was concerned it wasn't.

"How can you say that?" Jane scolded stepping toward her. "You're feelings are relevant. You're relevant to me." Jane told her fiercely, but not unkindly. "Why didn't you just call me?"

She looked up at him again. "Right," she scoffed, "because that worked so well the six months you were gone. If I hadn't seen that rose on your desk this morning, I would've thought you'd run off again." A sad smile settled on her face.

Lisbon watched as Jane's face appeared suddenly very guilty, sad and tired all at once. This was why she hadn't wanted to talk to him about it. She knew that she'd end up saying things that she wouldn't be able to take back, and she didn't want him to feel guilty for this as well. He already had enough guilt on his shoulders without adding another bolder.

"It's my issue to resolve, Jane. Not yours. I didn't tell you because there's nothing you can do to fix it."

"I would've called you yesterday if…," he started—his voice sincere.

"But you didn't, so just drop it, would you? You feel bad, I feel bad. Enough," she turned back to her desk and started making her way to her chair when Jane caught her hand.

"Teresa," he cooed. The hair on her neck rose as he spoke. "I want you to trust me," he told her. "I _need_ you to trust me."

She wanted to believe him, but experience told her not to. The last year had made her a cynic, and she hated that. She saw Jane scrutinizing her expression. His fingers were warm and unrelenting on hers.

"Fine, then call in when you want a day off… and don't be late. That would work wonders on my sanity," she said smiling. She tightened her grip quickly on his hand to soothe him and then loosened it again.

She expected some kind of snide remark, but she didn't get it. Instead he held her gaze. His eyes were serious and intent. Her smile faded as she tried to figure out what he was doing.

His hand tightened on hers, and he pulled her toward him just one step so that there was only one step between them.

She stopped breathing as he made eye contact, feeling suddenly nervous. She wanted to look away but couldn't. She was curious, too curious. What was he doing? She wasn't even sure he knew. After a moment he took a step toward her filling the space between them, wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head against hers, so there cheeks were touching. Her hands went up instinctively, if not clumsily and gripped his shoulders. Not quite hugging him back, but not brushing him off either.

"I'm sorry, Teresa" he whispered in her hair. She could feel just how clean shaven he was as he spoke, his cheek rubbing against hers.

After that she thought he'd let go, but he didn't, instead his arms tightened around her and his hands clutched the back of her shirt. She let out a surprised breath, not sure how long she'd been holding it. She wasn't sure what had overcome her, but she turned her head into his neck just a little. He smelled like after shave. She allowed her arms to move from his shoulders and wrap around his neck tightly, finally allowing it to become a proper, if a somewhat intense, hug.

This was so unlike Jane, being this intimate. With anyone was unusual for him, but hugging her like this was unheard of. Sure they'd hugged before, but they always been rather awkward. This was a real, honest to goodness hug—one that she didn't wish was over as she patted him awkwardly, and one that he didn't pull away from in order to shoot her. Her head ended up resting on his shoulder and his head rested on the top of hers.

It felt good. To be held like this, comforted, and even more she knew that Jane felt the same way. They had both needed this hug, needed to know that they weren't alone, that someone was there that really cared about them. Needed the comfort of being so close to someone that truly wanted the other to be happy and safe and of being close to someone that would do what they could to insure it. Lisbon could feel months of stress and worry melting away and while Jane still held her tight, she could feel his body relaxing as well, as he breathed in and out.

While often misguided, Jane had always been there for her. He'd kept her in the dark before, but he'd told her on more than one occasion that he hadn't wanted to put her in danger. It _was_ obvious that he cared about her, so obvious that even Red John had seen it. Why where they fighting this truth?

She wasn't sure how it'd happened, but over the eight and a half years that they had worked together he had become a part of her family. She'd known this before and had even told him that, but right now it was clear just what that really meant. She might have felt pathetic thinking that the most important person in her life somehow and somewhere over time had become her irritating, know-it-all, curly haired, blond consultant. But as said consultant was holding her right now, her pride was completely quelled. It wasn't her brothers and their families, nor her team, not even a boyfriend, (like she ever had time for one,) that was the most important person in her life—it was Patrick Jane.

Her eyes closed. "I know you're sorry," she spoke back softly. She did trust him, whether he deserved it or not and she probably always would.


	9. Making Observations

**A/N: Thanks to Canterlevi once again for proof reading! You're awesome.**

* * *

Chapter 9 Making Observations

Jane sat on his sofa, with his blue cup in one hand and the matching saucer in the other. He lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip of his hot apple blossom tea as he watched the room. Watched Van Pelt work on her computer, Cho talking with a cop from another unit, and Rigsby on the phone; and he didn't just watch—he saw things too. Van Pelt was tense, from having been at her computer for several hours, and kept rolling her neck. Cho wasn't fond of the cop he was speaking with, which was evident by his stiff posture and his tight jaw, but he remained professional as always. And Rigsby was more than ready to get off the phone, taping his foot and scratching at his desk with his fingertips, not out of irritation but because he was anxious for the day to end and having trouble focusing on menial tasks.

Jane crossed his legs, before he took another sip and then continued with his observations. This was not uncommon of him; he was a Mentalist after all. He was paid to observe, and even if he wasn't paid to observe he'd do it anyway. As far as he was concerned there wasn't much as enjoyable as people watching. He especially enjoyed the reactions he got from his team when he would watch them.

Rigsby would look up and down nervously between his desk and Jane, or at his clothes, perhaps thinking he'd spilled something. Van Pelt would typically put up with it for a minute then would either relocate to a place he couldn't see her or she would engage him in a conversation, and Cho would either ignore him or tell him to knock it off.

Cho finished speaking to the other officer and made his way to his desk, just as Rigsby hung up the phone. The two of them started talking about the case; Jane's mind wandered. The case was solved and he was bored. He wondered what Lisbon was doing—shut up in her office. Had she already eaten the bearclaw he'd left on her desk this morning? Was she finishing up some paper work? Talking on the phone? He thought about going to her office and seeing what she was doing, but decided against. With the case they were rapping up he knew any minute she'd be out of her office to talk to the team and to thank him for the pastry. He could be patient. He took another sip of his tea and waited.

Lisbon had always been his favorite to watch. Even though she made it difficult by having an office and even when she wasn't in her office she would be out in the bullpen talking about a case with the team and dragging him into conversations, making it near impossible to be the silent observer.

Today was different however. Today, he had a peculiar interest in observing his partner, and he was determined to do so. Ever since they'd hugged in her office two weeks ago, he'd felt an unusual interest in her. He and Lisbon had always had a wonderful rapport and banter established. They'd been close practically since the day he'd joined the team. It had just been that easy for them, but he had to admit that their hug had added a new dimension to their relationship. It had deepened it, intensified it and since then he felt as if he were seeing Lisbon with new eyes. Noticing things he hadn't before—interesting things.

His brow scrunched as he uneasily resituated himself on his leather couch recalling his discovery of her preference for Hercule Poirot over Sherlock Holmes. It just didn't make sense. It was as upsetting as a bad tea. Like the one Archer Braddock, a murder victim from a little over a year ago, had tried drinking to rid himself of cancer. His nose crinkled at the thought. What other intolerable things didn't he know about her? Or for that matter what tolerable things didn't he know about her?

Jane was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when Lisbon stepped out of her office. Jane's eyes found her immediately and he sat up a little straighter as he watched her make her way toward the kitchen. She had a small smile playing at her lips and held the empty white paper bag her bearclaw had been in. It was crumpled in her hands. She dropped it by the trash as she went by it, but it hit the rim and fell to the floor.

Jane smiled briefly in anticipation of her reaction. Her face dropped and changed to exaggerated exasperation as she took a step back, reached down and grabbed the paper with the tips of her fingers, her left leg lifting ever so slightly as she did. Then she stood to full posture, threw it into the trash and brushed her hands together. She smiled again. She was in a noticeably good mood today.

Jane repositioned himself a little on his couch to better see her as she moved around the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee. For some reason he felt surprised by just how feminine her movements actually were. She was tough, she had to be for her job, but it wasn't like he'd been oblivious to the fact that she was a woman. That had always been obvious, but there was something shocking in the way her pinky finger went up as she lifted her coffee mug to her lips, and something almost alluring even about how she closed her eyes for her first sip. Had she always done that, or was this a first?

He lifted his cup taking another swig of tea. _Fascinating… _

She did look particularly nice today. Her hair was straight and pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing dark jeans that flattered her figure and a white button up blouse with red trim that she had tucked into her pants, and her makeup was spot on. Very natural, just enough to enhance her already striking features, her strong jaw, high cheek bones and bright green eyes. Why wasn't she dating anyone? She was smart, beautiful and intriguing. He knew she was amenable to dating, she'd gone out with Walter Mashburn after all.

He watched as she took another drink of coffee and made her way around the counter and into the bullpen. She looked at Jane briefly before stopping at Van Pelt's desk. The redhead looked at Lisbon as she began to talk, as did Cho and Rigsby. Lisbon gave them the last of their assignments for the case, with her hand tightly holding her mug and her other hand in her front jean pocket.

Jane knew she was pleased at how quickly they'd closed their last case, and he couldn't blame her. The team had faced a bit of a dry spell while he was gone and he was glad that his being back helped them to feel more a sense of accomplishment and purpose with their jobs, especially Lisbon. When she was happy he was… content.

Lisbon looked over at Jane briefly catching his eye. He noticed a hint of blush on her cheeks and a small smile before she looked away and answered a question asked of her by Cho. Jane couldn't help but smile a little to himself at her reaction. He knew he wasn't being subtle about staring, but since when was he ever subtle about anything? He watched as she leaned toward Grace's computer while the redhead showed her something. Lisbon's finger pointed at the computer, then bent it back into her palm as Grace said something to her, then pointed it straight again at the computer after Grace finished.

She stood tall and finished with the team. "Good work on this case. Just make sure all the loose ends are tied off." The team nodded and began working on what they had in front of them. Jane watched as she stuck her hands in her pockets, something he began noting she did a lot, and then faced him. He kept his eyes on her and took one last sip of his tea as she walked slowly toward him.

They made eye contact and Jane wondered if she might blush again as they held the eye contact. He was more fascinated now then he had been from watching her more discreetly before. She was taunting him—daring him to speak. She raised a questioning eyebrow, which Jane mimicked with a smile, but he had no intention of speaking first. After a moment of awkward staring she finally smiled, unable to hold it back in longer.

"Jane," she said, her smile dropping rapidly, "you've been staring at me for the last ten minutes, knock it off and do something productive."

"Who says this hasn't been productive?" he asked pointedly. Still he was amused by her candor and grinned.

"Just because you have some creepy fascination with staring at people doesn't mean it's productive." She was trying really hard to be serious.

"Oh contraire and it isn't staring, it's observing."

"It's staring and it's creepy."

Jane frowned. "Isn't my '_staring_,'" he said mocking her tone, "one of the very reasons I'm employed with the CBI in the first place?"

"Making '_observations_,'" she mocked him in return, "about suspects is one thing, but what could you possibly glean from staring at me that would be relevant to a case."

His smile returned. "That is the question, now isn't it?" Jane was very aware that their conversation was starting to draw attention from the other members of the team. He didn't care. He was smiling like a fool, and having fun. "Well for starters, I can observe what sort of mood you're in, which helps me know how far I can push suspects before you stop me." He pointed at her as she leered and rolled her eyes at him. "You didn't know I paid attention to that did you? I can also see when you're on to something, when you're willing to go along with my schemes or not, when you're sleepy and need someone to keep you alert, when you're hungry, or grumpy… and grumpy—those two often go hand in hand with you," her chin pulled back as he continued, "and when you're worried midst other things. By observing you, it allows me to know how I can adjust my actions to better help you solve the case."

Grace chuckled at Jane's remarks and Cho and Rigsby smiled lightly, even though they were pretending not to hear.

Lisbon rounded her shoulders. "Please," she said incredulously. "You do whatever you want whenever you want, whether I'm okay with it or not, and you know it."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay fine," she continued as she tapped the side of her coffee cup with her pointer finger, "then what has my body language told you this morning?"

Jane felt his brow furrow, momentarily. "You're pleased with the amount of cases you've closed since I've been back. Today, you're even feeling like maybe things have finally gone back to being normal," he felt an uncomfortable silence with the other team members at his remark, "and you're glad that we haven't had to deal with any political cases in a while."

Her right hand left her pocket and she pointed a finger at him. "First of all, we closed cases while you were gone..."

"I never said you didn't," he spoke over her, "just not as many."

She continued as though he hadn't said anything, "and second who likes working political cases. I know you don't. And we closed plenty of cases without you."

He sat his tea cup down next to him on the sofa and looked at her plainly. "Okay in the six months I was gone how many cases did you close?"

Lisbon gave him a dirty look and he knew she had no intention of answering, but it didn't matter because Cho supplied the answer. "About half of what we've closed since you've been back."

"Half in six months of what we've closed in the three months I've been back," Jane said smugly, as he looked at Cho.

"Four months," Lisbon corrected.

He looked back at Lisbon, who was now scowling at him. Then he said, "Three and a half months."

"Whatever, we were managing just fine." Lisbon shook her head at him.

"See, grumpy and hungry. I'll take you to lunch." He uncrossed his legs and stood up.

Lisbon held up her hands. "No, I'm not hungry."

Jane's head tilted to the side. "Teresa, when are you going to learn you can't lie to me? I know this great little place. It's not far from here."

"I'm busy here," she told him trying to sound like she was still angry, but not quite managing it.

"No you're not and you're denial that you need me would be hurtful if I wasn't so intrigued by it." He told her while a grin spread over his face again. "Now come on." He took her coffee mug from her and sat it on his desk, grabbed her shoulders turning her and then took her by the elbow.

"What about everyone else?" she asked. Jane stopped in his tracks. They all looked at him. He was beginning to wonder if she was planning on being difficult all day.

"Rigsby just ate two hamburgers and a large fry, Van Pelt brought a lunch today, a chicken salad if I'm not mistaken by the smell in the refrigerator, and I doubt Cho would want to come, but I'll ask him anyway if it'll make you happy." Rigsby and Grace were giving Cho amused smirks before Jane could speak.

"Cho, would you like to accompany me and your grumpy boss to lunch?" he asked seriously.

Lisbon smacked Jane's arm. "I am not grumpy."

"Quiet woman, and let the man answer." Jane kept his expectant eyes on Cho and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Cho crossed his arms and looked at them, while Lisbon stared at Jane with a dumbfounded expression, then he answered. "Okay."

Jane looked at Cho curiously as Lisbon stifled a laugh. "Really?" Jane asked.

Cho gave him a disapproving stare then smiled. "Nah, I was just messing with you." He turned back to his desk.

Jane's look of confusion was replaced by a self-satisfied smirk that he hadn't read Cho wrong, before he turned to Lisbon and made eye contact. "There, are you happy?"

"Traitor," she told a smirking Cho, as Jane pulled her out of the bullpen and in the direction of the elevator.

"At this rate, I'll be grumpy too before we get there," Jane grumbled.

"Seems fair," Lisbon grinned.

* * *

Lisbon sat across from Jane at the café he had insisted they eat at. She wanted to be irritated, but she had been hungry and the food here was good. It was a nice restaurant, with linen on all the tables and candles for night dining. It was painted a pastel yellow and there were fresh sunflowers on every table. It was pretty busy as well. It wasn't a place that she would have picked for herself but they had burgers which is what she'd been craving. She picked up a fry and popped it in her mouth.

Jane sat his caprese sandwich down and smiled at her. "I told you you'd like it."

"It's not bad," she agreed. "But next time you're hungry you don't have to make a fuss to get me out of the office. I would've gone anyway. Most likely." She pulled a wrinkle out of the white table cloth to avoid eye contact.

Jane smiled. "You can deny it all you want, try and push it off on me, but I know you were hungry."

Lisbon laughed quietly. She couldn't believe how easy things had been between her and Jane lately and she was glad.

"That's nice," Jane observed, leaning back in his chair.

She looked at him curiously. "What is?"

"You—laughing." Jane leaned toward her and placed his hands on the table. "I bet it feels good too, doesn't it?"

Her smile dropped a little. "Yeah, it does." She looked at her plate.

She knew Jane wouldn't be able to keep himself from commenting on her abrupt shift in temper, but there was a topic that they needed to discuss. A pressing one that included a countdown, which by her watch left a week and a half before all hell broke loose. Things had been so nice that she'd been avoiding the topic, but she couldn't anymore.

"Teresa, why the glum expression all of a sudden?" Jane asked.

Lisbon slowly lifted her eyes. "Jane, we need to talk."

His brow furrowed. "No." His expression showed that he knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. "We don't need to talk about that." He reached for a menu that he'd had the waiter leave and opened it. "Now, what do you want for dessert?"

"Jane," she reached across the table and grabbed his wrist.

He tensed, took a deep breath then lowered the menu and looked at her.

Lisbon made sure they had eye contact before she continued. "I know this isn't an easy topic for you, but we're running out of time and I can't just keep pretending that nothing's going to happen." Her voice was quiet. She pulled her hand back.

Jane closed the menu and set it aside. "I know you want to know and I will tell you. I'll have to, but not right now. Please, you're just going to have to trust me for a few more days."

"In this circumstance asking for a few days is asking for a lot." Her expression was grave.

Jane leaned toward her again. "I know," he all but whispered, "But I need you to give it to me?"

She hated it when he became all disarming like this. It made her feel useless to his request. What was she going to say? No? Of course not.

She nodded lightly. "All right," she conceded. Somehow the eye contact they had turned into a staring contest. She wanted to wince away, she hated feeling like he was reading her, but she didn't. These little moments had been increasing and while she wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of facilitating them, she didn't want to be the first to look away all the time either.

His eyes were sad again and nearly boring holes into hers. She couldn't imagine what a nightmare it would be being romantically involved with someone like Jane. The manipulation, the lying, the body language reading, and these stares—killing any chance you'd have of saying no. She blinked as he continued to stare, until she noticed something that drew her attention away from his eyes. She glanced down at his hand that was sitting above the menu. It wasn't now, but she was sure it had just twitched.

She looked back up at him, but he was now looking at the menu.

He'd picked it up again. "I knew you wanted dessert," he told her as he opened it.

"I hear they have excellent chocolate cake," a familiar female voice chimed in. Jane and Lisbon both looked up and away from the table in the direction of the voice. "I hope I'm not intruding."

Lisbon blinked a little confused by what she was seeing, but when her eyes opened again and there was no mistaking. She stood up, her chair flying back, and reached for her gun.

Jane was up before she could remove it from her holster and spoke. "Lisbon, don't."

Lisbon's eyes flew to Jane. "Jane! I don't want to hear it. I don't care what you think of her, she's a fugitive and I am going to arrest her." She removed her gun, took a step toward the tall, thin woman, with brown hair that hung just below the shoulder, and aimed her gun.

"Lisbon, she has bodyguards," Jane said, just as several of said guards made their presence known and aimed their own guns at Lisbon. Jane raised his hands, just as someone in the restaurant screamed.

"Drop your gun, Ma'am," one of the guards ordered in a husky foreign accent that Lisbon couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I'm with the California Bureau of Investigation and this woman is a fugitive of the law." Lisbon spoke clearly as she reached for her badge and showed it to them.

"I don't think they care about that," Jane told her, while rolling back nervously on his heels. She looked around the restaurant and the scared looks on everyone's faces, before lowering and holstering her gun. She left her hand above it anyway.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes at the woman who ignored her and turned to Jane.

"Patrick Jane, it's good to see you."

"Erica Flynn, I thought you were hiding abroad," Jane was trying to placate her. He looked around nervously at the men holding the guns; his arms were still in the air, his fingers wiggling.

Erica smiled coyly at Jane and Lisbon seriously considered shooting her despite the repercussions, then Erica looked at the man who'd just been ordering Lisbon about.

"It's all right Giovanni," Erica said in a saccharine tone. "They won't try anything."

Giovanni lowered his gun reluctantly; the other guards followed his lead.

Jane dropped his arms, stepped around the table and between Lisbon and Erica, cutting off Lisbon's view. She wanted to hit him.

"Last time I saw you, Jane, you were standing at the curb of a restaurant seeing me off," Erica said teasingly. "And I do recall you promising me you'd find me." The sound of disappointment was heavy in her tone.

Lisbon walked forward and stood just behind Jane and to the side.

Jane lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb over the top of his pointer finger. "Last time I saw you, you didn't have so much brawn surrounding you."

"Yes, well that's my husband's doing. He's so protective. I'm sure you know all about that." Her eyes were glimmering.

"Husband?" Lisbon said making herself known again.

Erica pulled her eyes from Jane's and looked at Lisbon. "Yes. Perhaps you've heard of him. Alonzo Conti?"

"Alonzo Conti?" Lisbon's brows rose. "The Italian Foreign Minister?"

"Yes, that's him." Erica's voice was chipper.

Lisbon watched as a sly smile crossed Jane's face. He thought this was funny. Forget hitting him, she wanted to shoot him too. Maybe just in the foot, but still. She couldn't believe her luck. It was like fate was playing some cruel trick on her. Like Lorelei wasn't enough of a problem for her to worry about, now she had Erica Flynn in the mix too. Whatever he was keeping from her would be pushed to the back burner with Erica here, she was sure of it. He'd get all goofy, distracted and near useless, just like he had last time.

"So much for no political cases," Jane chimed in throwing an uncomfortable smirk in Lisbon's direction.

Lisbon grimaced.

* * *

Jane stood outside the restaurant with Erica Flynn at his side. Lisbon had left quite quickly after Erica had mentioned who her husband was and Jane had wanted to follow her, but his curiosity and pride had gotten the best of him. This woman was always trying to prove she was smarter than he was. He had to stay, figure out why she was here, and start working on a way to get her back in prison. He knew she thrived on showing him up, and he couldn't have that.

"I'm still not really sure why you're here," he said shoving a hand into his front pant pocket.

"I already told you, my husband is here on diplomatic business. I don't know all the details, a bit boring for my liking really."

"Yes, you said that already. What I'm wondering is why _you're_ here—not your husband." Jane tapped his shoe on the pavement.

She gave him a mischievous look while pushing her purse up her arm. "He knows all about my past, naturally…"

"Naturally," Jane repeated in a mocking tone.

She held her smile and continued, "and so originally I wasn't going to come, but three weeks ago something," she paused so quickly that anyone else might not have noticed or thought much of it, but not Jane, "I just decided that I wanted to come and he made it happen. He's so accommodating. Such a lovely man."

Jane's face had slowly dropped. She was clearly hiding something, but he couldn't show her all his cards just yet. "So, he's not your true love then, I take it. He should watch his back." He glanced at the road as a limo slowly pulled in front of the restaurant.

"Very funny," she said sounding amused, "but no, he's not. Actually, I'm not really sure I believe in true love. The closest I've ever come to feeling anything remotely comparable was that day in my hotel room, with you." She took a step forward as one of her guards came around the limo and opened the door for her.

Jane looked at the very menacing man and then took a step away from her. "You think that you're untouchable, but I will catch you, and you will go back to jail."

She stepped toward him again and lightly took hold of his collar. "Oh Patrick, don't make promises you can't keep." She let her hand slide down his lapel, then turned from him, walked over to her limo, and got in while simultaneously putting on her sunglasses. She gave him a pouty smile and a wave as her door shut.

Jane didn't like this. Of all the times she could've picked, why'd she have to come now? He knew he'd have to work over time. He'd have figure out what Red John was up to, protect Lisbon, and get Erica behind bars. He didn't really see that he had any other choice. His stomach flipped, the nerves were starting to overcome him. It was almost too much. In the end, if it came to it, he'd let Erica go before he'd let anything happen to Lisbon, but he really didn't want it to come to that.

He was glad that Lisbon could at very least help him with Erica. Still, he wasn't sure how pleased Lisbon would be about the entire issue. Aside from the fact that Lisbon was a cop and Erica a criminal and it was her job to arrest criminals, he knew Lisbon disliked Erica and was even a little jealous of her. Jane looked at the sidewalk and kicked at the pavement with his right foot. Then he began to think about his next move.

What he really wanted to do was head right back to the office so Lisbon wouldn't have time to stress over him being with Erica. But he also knew that if Lisbon thought he was with Erica, it would provide him the perfect cover to go and talk to someone he'd been meaning to talk to for a long while now. He'd been with Lisbon so much over the last couple of weeks that he'd found it hard to contact him. He realized this might cause problems with Lisbon later, but decided that her good opinion of him wasn't as important to him her life.

He took a deep breath pushing back the knowledge of the hurt he knew this would cause Lisbon and whistled for a taxi. He needed to see Stephen Sinclair.

* * *

**A/N: Things will be picking up here really quick. Thanks for reading!**


	10. More Complicated

**Thanks once again to the wonderful Canterlevi for taking time fro her schedule to correct my story! **

Chapter 10 More Complicated

"So what are we going to do?" Rigsby asked.

Lisbon looked at her team, now seated around the conference table. She stood quietly with her hands in her pockets, and thought about what she would say. This whole situation could easily turn into a media crap storm, and that was the last thing the CBI needed right now. Especially after the death of Wainwright. She looked down and shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think there's much we can do without starting some international incident."

"We can't just let her get away…" Grace started to say.

"Believe me, that's not my intention, but we're going to have to be careful on this one." Her voice was firm, silencing any further arguments that might have followed.

"Where's Jane?" Cho asked.

Lisbon had hoped they wouldn't ask that. She knew that they had seen Jane's behavior with Erica before she'd escaped just as she had. The team had all but gotten over Jane's six month absence, and she worried that this might throw a wrench into it. Either way she wasn't going to lie to them. "He stayed with Erica after I left."

Cho sighed loudly, Grace looked down and Rigsby's face dropped.

"We all know that Erica has a soft spot for Jane, but that's not why she came back," she tried to sound as casual as possible. "She wouldn't risk getting thrown in jail for anything less than…" she paused. Why would Erica come back? "I don't even know what. That's what Jane's trying to find out. There's nothing we can do for now, so there's no point in worrying about it."

She realized her words were hypocritical, she had every intention of worrying about it later, but that didn't mean the team needed to worry about it. Amongst other things.

"Listen, there's something else that I need to discuss with you all." Lisbon removed her hands from her pockets and sat down. "It's about Lorelei."

This immediately had their attention. She almost felt she was betraying Jane by saying something. She had promised him a little more time, and she would give it to him, but that didn't mean she couldn't give the team what knowledge she did have. In her gut she knew something big was coming, and even though she didn't know what it was, she had to give them something, put them on their guard at least.

She chose her words carefully. "The last time Jane and I went to see Lorelei, she told Jane that Red John was going to send him a message in a month. As of today we have a week and half."

"What?" Grace's voice shot out and was full over worry and anger. Cho and Rigsby sat up straight in their seats.

Lisbon raised a hand. "I don't want you to start panicking. It would be playing into his hands."

"What kind of message," Rigsby asked.

Lisbon sighed. "I don't know, but whatever it is, we have warning this time."

"Red john doesn't give warnings." Cho said finally speaking up.

"No, he doesn't," Lisbon conceded looking down at the table. "Which is why I told you."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Grace asked angrily.

Lisbon made eye contact with Grace. "I had a call to make and I made it." She made sure her statement was clear. "I'm telling you now so you can be aware, that's all."

"You shouldn't be worried about us," Rigsby inserted. "This is just what we talked about before. Red John didn't ask Jane to kill any of us, he asked him to kill you." He was calm and precise.

Lisbon threw her shoulders back defensively. "So, what… I should live my life in fear?"

"That's not what Wayne's saying," Grace defended.

Lisbon ignored her and continued, "Then what are you saying?" She looked at Grace first then Rigsby then Cho and watched as they all looked away from her. "I am the obvious next target, I get it but that's why he won't come after me."

They all looked up at her uneasily.

"What's your reasoning?" Cho asked.

"This was the first time Red John said anything about Jane's relationship with me. Whatever he thinks is going on, it's a new idea to him, or he would have said something before. I think he'd much rather torture Jane with the idea that he'll come after me then actually coming after me." She said it with as much conviction as she could—even though she wasn't sure she believed her own words. "I'm not worried for myself."

"Boss," Rigsby said.

"Enough!" The more they talked about this, the thicker the feeling of dread surrounded her. "I'm fine. I'm going to be fine." She stood up and continued her thought quickly before the team could say anything else. "Rigs, I want you to look into the ramifications of arresting Erica Flynn, Cho, I want you to get Erica's and Conti's schedules for their duration in California, and Grace you're coming with me."

"Where?" Grace questioned.

"We're going to go talk to Alonzo Conti."

* * *

Jane stood across the desk from where Stephen Sinclair sat. Stephen was writing what Jane guessed was probably a note to a rival. It was almost charming that he wrote long hand. He was sure Stephen had his business down to an art form. He'd send letters that would then be read and destroyed. That way there would be no electronic footprint of his propositions. He wouldn't ever need to worry about any rivals trying to use his letters against him because Stephen was too powerful for them to be that stupid. Jane shrugged almost unnoticeably at the thought.

Jane lifted his hands and stuck them into his front jacket pockets as he casually looked around Stephen's office. It was just as garish as the room where he'd originally met him and his six decoys. His desk was made of cherry wood, and he had tapestries on the walls, and an ornate Persian rug on the floor. Stephen really enjoyed rugs. He also had what Jane was pretty sure was a fake Tiffany lamp on his desk. He was sure Stephen thought it was real or it wouldn't be here. Jane might have told him if he cared enough, but he didn't. There was also an old telephone on the desk, and a laptop computer.

Jane rolled back on his heels and forward on his toes, while taking a relaxing breath. He kept as apathetic an air to his demeanor as he could. Stephen was trying to elicit a reaction from him by taking his sweet time; Jane refused to give him the satisfaction. Instead he started whistling Battle Hymn of the Republic, making sure to emphasis important notes in the song as he did.

Stephen glanced up at Jane as he finished writing his letter. He smirked then folded it up and stuck it in a cream envelope. He stood up and walked across the room to his office door and handed the letter out. When he turned Jane removed his hand from his pocket and was dramatically directing the end of the chorus, while Stephen made his way back to his desk, and leaned against it facing Jane with his hands on his desk at either side of him.

"Battle Hymn of the Republic," Stephen said when Jane finally stopped whistling.

Jane smiled in reply.

"That was my mother's favorite hymn. She used to hum it all the time when I was little," Stephen continued. "But enough of that. We both know you are not here to learn about my childhood."

"But I already have," Jane confessed. Stephen raised a questioning eyebrow, so Jane explained. "Learned about your childhood."

Jane watched as Stephen appraised him then smirked. Stephen raised his hands palms up towards Jane, in a motion that suggested he wanted Jane to tell him what he'd learned.

Jane shrugged a little with a soft pacifying smile. "Maybe some other time."

"Yes, I forgot myself. You're here for a reason. After the show you put on last time, I admittedly have been wondering what other observations you've made." Stephen crossed his arms in front of his chest comfortably.

Jane's smile faded. He had a pretty good guess where this conversation was going. He decided to speed it up, so they could get to the point. "I needed to weed you out. It was effective, but I also did what I did as a way of helping you understand that you that you can't lie to me, manipulate or upset me." His brow scrunched briefly at the last part of his statement. He hadn't mean to say 'upset.'

Stephen's smile got bigger. "I like you Mr. Jane."

"You shouldn't," Jane spoke firmly. "Ours is purely a business relationship. I tell you these things only so you'll know to continue wisely."

"I have no intention of lying to or manipulating you. Believe me, I am perfectly aware that I couldn't," Stephen confessed.

Jane looked away. This game was getting old. "Mr. Sinclair," his voice was more angry than it normally was, "if you have information now's the time to impart it."

"I do have information for you," Stephen let his words sink in.

Jane was furious. How long had he had this information and why hadn't he come to Jane with it, instead of waiting for Jane to come to him. He didn't say anything even though he had a few select words he really wanted to use. Instead he waited patiently, his apathetic expression returning.

"But before I can give it to you, I am going to need some guarantee that you will withhold your end of the bargain. A gesture of good faith, if you will," Stephen voice was calm and cool.

Jane looked down at the red embellished carpet below his feet. "It appears that we are in a stalemate then. If I give you what you want now how can I be assured that you will tell me what you know."

"What I'm asking for is not what I really want. It's merely a trifle, a way for you to show what you are really willing to do to get this information."

Jane looked away again and rolled back on his heels, considering the situation. Jane had been afraid this might happen, but he didn't really think he had much choice. He had to fight Red John on his level. If that meant bending rules, or breaking laws, well, he'd done both before. He knew it'd piss Lisbon off, she'd find out eventually, but again it was for a noble cause. "What do you want?"

Stephen wore a self-satisfied smirk that Jane didn't like. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of those.

"Have you heard of Mark Randle?" Stephen asked.

"Yes, he's a crime lord like yourself. Powerful, but not as powerful as you."

Stephen stood up and walked back around his desk and sat in his chair. "He and I have a business deal going down soon, but I'm not so sure that he intends on following through with his end of the bargain. I want you to go talk to him, use your skills, find out how honest he's being with me."

"What makes you think that he'll talk to me?" Jane's hands went into his vest pockets.

"James is waiting outside the door for you. You are going to go with him and deliver the letter I just wrote." He looked down at his desk. Jane could see that this was his way of excusing him.

* * *

Lisbon walked angrily back into the CBI HQ with Van Pelt at her heels. Their trip to the Italian embassy had been pointless. Alonzo Conti had refused to see them and his body guards threatened to escort them off the premises if they didn't leave immediately. According to his guards Conti was perfectly aware of his wife's past and saw no reason why he needed to talk to them about her. Lisbon seriously doubted he had any clue what had really happened in Erica's past. Just some seriously diluted version of it. Her and Grace stepped into the elevator, and Lisbon went to push the button, but slammed her palm into the metal just above the buttons instead.

Grace stepped over and quickly pushed the button. "I'm sure Cho and Rigsby have something," Grace said quietly, reminding Lisbon she was there.

"Why do men have to be such idiots sometimes?" Lisbon spat. She stood perfectly still with her hand where she'd hit the elevator and her head bowed. "A beautiful woman shows up, shows a little interest, and even when a police officer's shows up trying to warn you that you'll end up dead if you stay with her, they still don't listen."

"Are you okay boss?"

"I'm fine," Lisbon said as the elevator doors opened on their floor. She was starting to feel a little embarrassed by her outburst. She stepped quickly out of the elevator and walked towards the bullpen.

Cho and Rigsby were at their desks when she walked in. Grace quickly made her way around Lisbon and to her desk, as Cho and Rigsby looked up at Lisbon.

Lisbon took a deep breath. She didn't want to yell at them. It wasn't their fault she was in a bad mood. "Have you found anything yet?"

"I have Alonzo Conti's schedule. Mostly meeting for the next two weeks, and then they go back to Italy." Cho stood from his desk and made his way over to Lisbon with several pieces of paper and handed them to her. "Erica doesn't have a set schedule, but she will be attending a few meetings with Conti and there's a formal dinner in his honor that I assume she'll be attending."

"Don't assume anything. I want to know where she is at all times. We'll take shifts following her. If we only have two weeks before she leaves again, then we need to make them count. She had at least ten body guards with her, so you'll need to be aware and careful." She turned from Cho and to Rigsby. "What have you got?"

Rigsby looked at her nervously. "It doesn't look good boss. We're obviously within our jurisdiction to arrest her, but as long as her body guards are with her and as long as she's married to Conti, this case isn't working in our favor. I really don't see any way of arresting her that won't cause a rift."

Lisbon knew this already, but she also knew that there had to be away. One thing she'd learned from years of working with Jane is that there was always a way. "Then we'll have to be clever. If the only way we can arrest her is by getting her husband to denounce her, then that's what we've got to do."

"Do you think we can?" Rigsby questioned.

Grace spoke up. "I don't know boss. Conti seems pretty steadfast."

"I don't care how steadfast he is." Lisbon raised a hand in the air for emphasis. "She escaped from our custody. If anything happens to him, it'll be on our hands. I don't care what we have to do, she's going down." Lisbon turned from the bullpen and headed to her office. She was quickly losing her patience again, and she knew the team could hear it in her voice. She needed to get away—a moment alone.

Just as she was about to walk into her office she heard Rigsby's voice, "Wasn't she in a good mood this morning?"

She stepped into her office, shut the door behind her, and took a deep breath. This morning felt like it had been weeks ago. She closed her eyes and counted to ten.

* * *

Jane wasn't all too comfortable being escorted to Mark Randle offices by James, the very man he'd hypnotized not too long ago. He knew he could hypnotize him again if he needed to but it wouldn't be as easy as the last time he'd done it. He was surprised however to discover the location of the meeting. While Jane was positive that there were offices on the premises, he wasn't being taken to one. He was in a luxury hotel and was being taken to the restaurant on the top floor.

When the elevator opened he was greeted by an elegant but empty restaurant. Round tables were draped in black linen, with red runners, and each had three or more white candles. The walls were black with large red flowers painted on them, and on the other side of the room the windows reached from floor to ceiling, with a large open space leading to an outdoor patio with an amazing view of the city. A bar sat to the right by the wall, and was being manned by a tall male bartender. A large man with a bald head, and a shiny suit, that reminded Jane of the suits he used to wear when he was pretending to be a psychic, sat at the bar. He was going through paper work and drinking a glass of red wine.

James leaned towards Jane. "That's Mr. Randle. He doesn't like to be disturbed, so whatever it is you do, you have to do it quick." He gave Jane the letter. "Here."

Jane couldn't help but be amused by James' cowering. "He's just a man, a hardened criminal perhaps, but still a man."

James' head whipped towards Jane's. "Yeah, a man who's killed five men, and doesn't even have a parking ticket to show for his crimes."

"Five men, is that all?" Jane asked sarcastically grabbing the letter from James' hand and sticking it in his suit coats' inside pocket. "I thought you were supposed to be tough," Jane chided with a look of disappointment as he walked towards the bar.

He sat two stools down from Mark Randle and got the attention of the bartender and ordered a Bloody Mary.

He could see that Mark had wanted to look over at him, see who was sitting next to him in an empty lounge, but he controlled his curiosity, and aside from raising his eyebrow briefly, he showed no other signs of curiosity. Jane waited wordlessly for his drink to come and started tapping the counter with his left pointer and index finger. It was the hand closest to Mark, and he wanted him to hear the tapping. When his drink came he bent down over his straw and began drinking it—loudly.

Mark sat up a little straighter after the first sip, obviously irritated, but he didn't look at Jane or say anything. Then Jane slurped again. Jane could see James fidgeting by the elevator, freaking out over the slurping, but he ignored him and slurped again. This time Mark did look over at him. He gave Jane an exasperated stare as Jane gulped loudly followed by a couple more slurps, then Mark went back to his paper work. Jane pulled the celery from his glass and took a bite from it very loudly.

"Do you mind?" Mark said looking at Jane again.

"Not at all," Jane said setting his celery stick down on his napkin before taking another loud sip.

Mark gave him a dirty look, and went back to his paper work. He was irritated, but being much more patient than Jane would have suspected a sociopath to be.

Jane sat his glass down and looked towards Mark. "Mark Randle?"

Mark turned to him again, this time eyeing him narrowly. "Who are you?"

Jane smiled lightly. "My name's Patrick Jane. I'm with the CBI?"

"Is that supposed to matter to me?" He asked coolly.

Jane sat up a little taller. "No, I suppose not. What should matter to you however, is that I was sent here by Stephen Randle."

Mark sat his pen down on his paper work and turned to Jane. "So you're a dirty cop then?"

Jane shook his head. "No, I'm just a consultant."

"Dirty cop, dirty consultant. It's all the same isn't it?"

Jane ignored him and pulled Stephen's letter from his coat pocket and slide it down to Mark. "Stephen wanted you to have this."

He watched Mark's shoulders tense as Stephen's letter stopped at Mark's pile of paper. "What's this?"

Jane turned towards Mark, wanting to see his full reaction. "I don't know. I'm just the messenger." Jane tapped the counter again, this time with the fingers of his right hand.

Mark eyed the envelope nervously, like it was a cobra waiting to sink its teeth into him.

"You weren't expecting whatever is in that envelope to come so soon, were you?"

Mark's head whipped back towards Jane. "You delivered the message you can go." His voice was fierce.

"Alright, alright. No need to get upset." Jane stood up from his chair, and turned to walk away, but then stopped abruptly and looked back at Mark Randle. "You're Stephen's biggest rival, aren't you?" Mark didn't answer, but Jane could see from his expression that he was. "No need to answer I already know that you are, but just curious… how long have you been planning on overthrowing him?"

Mark's face turned a nasty shade of red. "Get off of my property before I have you thrown out."

Jane took the cue, and quickly excused himself. James saw the conversation coming to an end and had already gotten the elevator. "I told you he didn't like being disturbed; what were you thinking slurping like that?"

Jane ignored him. Sinclair was pulling him into the middle of a war and he wasn't happy about it. He could already guess what Sinclair really wanted him to do. He was beginning to doubt if this was worth the hassle. If Sinclair really had information for him.

When they walked out of the building Jane stopped and turned to James. "Get Sinclair on the phone, now." He was angry.

James stood up a little taller. Jane could see that he was amused that a man half a foot shorter than him would be bossing him around, but Jane held his gaze. Jane was angry, ready for answers and he wasn't going to put up with this walking Neanderthal. He saw James' face slowly drop, and the humor seep out the corners of his eyes.

"I was told to take you back to Mr. Sinclair."

Jane stepped toward him quickly and pointed a finger at him. James stepped back, before Jane started speaking. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Now, I know that Sinclair won't be happy if you return without the information he wants, and the only way he's gonna get it is if you call him. Right now!"

James looked down, then up at Jane again, then he pulled out his cell phone. "Fine." Jane waited for Sinclair to answer. "Boss, Mr. Jane wants to talk with you…" Jane motioned for the phone with his fingers, but James continued talking. "I know, but he's refusing to… okay." He reached the phone out and Jane took it.

"I want the information you owe me and I want it now," Jane said impatiently.

He heard a deep breath from Sinclair on the other end. "Mr. Jane, that's not how I work."

"It's how I work. I'm done playing games. You want to know what I know you'll tell me what information you have," Jane could feel his frustration building.

"You drive a hard bargain Mr. Jane." He went quiet for a moment making Jane twitch. "Alright, you win, but I will tell you that this Red John character is not an easy man to track."

Jane could feel tension building. "But you did?"

"No. I haven't found him, if that's what you are asking. I doubt anyone could." The line went quiet on the other end for a moment, again. Jane held his breath. Sinclair continued. "Last week, I received a manila file with my name on a printed label on it and pictures of you in it, you and your Agent Lisbon."

Jane wasn't surprised that Sinclair knew about Lisbon. He was sure that he knew about the entire team by now. He was a well-informed man.

Sinclair continued listing who was in the pictures. "You coming out of my building with my men, and you and some P.I., I think he's name was…"

"Mike Phelps," Jane supplied.

"Yeah, that was it." Jane kept his eye on James' curious expression while Sinclair continued. "As well as pictures with other politically, and socially important people. Seems you've been making lots of friends, Mr. Jane."

Jane felt a sick pulse in his stomach, but held a calm expression. "Well, we all need friends."

"Whoever's been following you seems to be curious about your friends too. Anyway, one of the pictures had a post-it note with day and time on it," Sinclair continued. "Friday, 9:30pm, and a red smiley face. Does that mean anything to you?"

Jane's stomach did a complete flip. "What picture was the note on?" Jane asked almost unable to control the urgency in his tone, although he'd already guessed the answer.

Jane could hear him riffling through papers. "It's on a picture of you and Agent Lisbon. Care to tell me what this is about, Mr. Jane?"

Jane wanted to get off the phone. "Mark Randle will go along with your schemes for now, but he's patient, and a hard worker. Still, he wants you to go down. Eventually he will stab you in the back."

"Are you sure…" Jane heard Sinclair ask as he handed the phone back to James, and walked away. Things were getting more and more complicated.

**Thanks for sticking in there with me. I have things coming that I think are exciting. **


	11. Anger

**Once again Canterlevi took the time to proof read my chapter. She's amazing! Thanks! **

**A few chapters ago a guest asked if I had a twitter account-It's wimmer511. I'm not on it a lot, but I will be using it more in the near future. I am going to be creating a blog for my original stories and to talk about the books I am writing and will use twitter to inform any interested parties. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm having a lot of fun writing it and love reading your reviews.**

Chapter 11 Anger

Jane walked slowly through the open market. The sky was beginning to lighten on the horizon. It was going to be a clear blue day. He'd come to this market before, even as early as this, but this was the first time he'd come for this specific reason. There weren't many customers right now, but the area was bustling with vendors setting up for the day. He weaved through the tables of colorful fruits and vegetables, and past the seafood and the meats.

After he'd left his meeting with Mark Randle, he'd gotten a call from Lisbon. He wasn't sure she would call him, after he'd stayed to talk to Erica yesterday afternoon. He thought she might give him the cold shoulder, but she didn't. Instead she called to update him on what they were doing with Erica. He was proud of Lisbon. He'd asked her to call when she was concerned and she had. She hadn't asked how long he'd been with Erica or what they talked about, she'd only informed him that they intended to set up surveillance on Erica as soon as they were able to track her down.

Jane was relieved that Lisbon hadn't asked about Erica. The last thing he wanted to do was lie to her, especially about Erica. He knew she'd be annoyed enough that he'd stayed, he couldn't imagine how she'd have felt if he'd admitted to spending the afternoon with her, especially since it wasn't true. A small part of him was also a little disappointed that she hadn't asked. He wasn't sure why, and he'd given himself an entire minute to think about it too.

Jane passed a truck unloading fresh fish and wrinkled his nose at the strong smell. He knew that the team would have little luck finding the hotel where Erica and her husband would be staying; he'd figured it out in an hour. He was going to see Erica today, but before he did that he needed to pick something up.

He walked a little further and finally reached the part of the market that sold flowers. Aside from the section with fruits and vegetables the flowers had always been his favorite part of an open market. He loved the colors, the yellow sunflowers, the red tulips, the orange poppies, the purple hydrangea, and the sweet smells. The smells were wonderful, soothing and relaxing like a nice cup of tea. He spent several minutes looking through the flowers, enjoying them, then finally he found what he was looking for.

* * *

Jane looked at the clock on his cell phone as he waited impatiently for Rigsby to pick him up at the CBI HQ. It was 7:30am. He rolled back on his heels as he jammed his hands into his pockets. He told Rigsby to meet him here at 7:30, but in his mind that had really meant 7:15. He had to remember that the team couldn't read his mind. He knew there was no point in being irritated, yet he was. He wasn't sure what to do about Red John's pictures and was conflicted by the timing of Erica's case. He was anxious to leave before Lisbon showed up. He didn't want to have to explain what he was doing. He knew she wouldn't approve because it was Erica Flynn and it would be easier to ask for her forgiveness than her permission.

His brow scrunched just as Rigsby pulled up. He smiled and walked over to the SUV and got in. "Good morning."

"So are you going to explain to me why I had to wake up early to come to work? And why I had to wear jeans and a t-shirt?"

"And a baseball cap?" Jane reached for his seatbelt and buckled it.

Rigsby grabbed a black cap out of the back seat and showed it to Jane. Jane smiled at him approvingly.

Rigsby yawned. "Lisbon okayed this?"

Jane tilted his head quickly to the left then to the right. "I'm sure she would've," he lied. "Now let's go."

"You didn't tell her?" Rigsby looked exasperated.

"I didn't want to wake her." That was the truth, part of it anyway. "Don't you worry Rigsby. Everything is going to work out fine. Now, take me to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel."

* * *

Lisbon walked off the elevator at her usual quick pace and proceeded to her office. She went into her office and propped the door open. She was a little early today, wasn't expecting the team for another fifteen minutes or so. She was glad for this. She came in early because she felt like she needed a few minutes to pull herself together before the team came in. She removed her black leather jacket and hung it from her coat rack, straightened her black and white striped shirt, then moved around her chair to her computer and turned it on. As it began booting she stretched back, raising her arms in the air above her head. She was definitely going to need a cup of coffee this morning.

She moved away from her computer, back around her desk and to her door. She went straight to the kitchen and started making herself a cup of coffee. She poured the coffee into a mug and mixed in sugar and cream. She thought for a moment about calling Jane and telling him not to bring her in a cup. He had gotten in the habit lately doing so first thing in the morning. She lifted her mug and took a sip as she walked out of the kitchen. She was about to reach for her phone when something in the bullpen caught her eye. On Jane's desk sat a hug deep purple hydrangea.

She looked around for him, which she knew was silly, he wasn't here. The hydrangea was proof positive of that. Apparently Jane was going to be late today. She could feel her lip quirk up at the side, but quickly checked herself, cleared her throat as she shoved a lock of her lose hair behind her ear and walked to her office.

She took a big swallow of her coffee as she stepped towards her desk, and when she brought her coffee mug down she saw a manila folder on her desk. It hadn't been there when she'd left to make her coffee. She felt her brow furrow as she sidled around her desk and into her chair. She sat her coffee down and picked the file up. A printed label with her name on it had been stuck to the top of the file.

_Strange, _she thought. She couldn't remember having seen anyone else on the floor when she came in, maybe Bertram had sent it down. She reached for her coffee while opening the file, but paused when a picture of her and Jane walking out of the CBI together caught her attention. She quickly reached down and started flipping through the pictures and immediately felt a lump forming in her throat. What had Jane been up to? Then she came to the last one. A post-it note was covering the contents of the picture and it read: Friday, 9:30 pm, are you ready Teresa?—Followed by a red smiley face. A chill ran up her spine, as she removed the post-it. It was a picture of her and Jane the day Wainwright was killed. They were in the desert, seated on the ground, holding hands.

_Crap._

* * *

Jane and Rigsby sat in the Ritz Carlton Lobby. Rigsby had slid down awkwardly in the antique looking chairs, they sat in. This was an extravagant hotel. The floors and pillars were covered in a light gray marble, crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, and the walls were painted white giving the space a very clean feel. The lobby was filled with large arrangements of of white and yellow roses, filling the space with their scent. Near the elevators, Jane and Rigsby sat near each other on opposite ends of a large antique china hutch that was painted white like the walls. Jane sat quietly sipping a cup of tea that he'd gotten from the tea room. California Poppy Tea. Jane was especially fond of this tea because it was local, and also because it was great for nerves. He took a slow sip and let it swirl around his tongue before swallowing.

Rigsby groaned. "I'm starving."

"You're not starving," Jane sat his cup on the saucer he was holding with his left hand as Rigsby looked up at him incredulously. Jane reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple that he'd bought at the market. He had expected Rigsby to get hungry and had prepared. "Here." Jane threw him the apple, which he caught one handed.

"Thanks," Rigsby said as he took a bite of the bright green granny smith. "It's been two hours, are you sure she's here?" he asked through a mouthful of apple.

Jane ran his thumb over the handle of his floral teacup. "I'm sure."

Just then, as if on cue, the elevator doors opened and out walked Erica, followed by three guards. Her back was to him as she walked away, but it was obvious to him that it was her. She was wearing a baby blue bikini, with a white sarong around her waist. Her hair lay around her shoulders, and Jane couldn't help but noting that it had grown at least six inches since he'd last seen her.

"Speak of the devil," Jane nodded in her direction for Rigsby's benefit.

Rigsby sat up in his chair and caught sight of her just before she turned a corner. "You were right. How did you know she'd be in this hotel?"

Jane thought about making something up, but felt suddenly anxious. "I made a few educated guesses then called around until I found the right hotel."

Rigsby's brows went up. "They're listed under their real names?"

"No. Also an educated guess."

Rigsby shook his head a little then reached for his phone. "I'd better call Lisbon."

Jane looked off in the direction Erica had gone. "I'm going to go talk to her." He stood up with his tea still in hand and began walking.

Rigsby jumped out of his chair and in front of Jane, before he could go too far. "Do you think that's a good idea? I thought we were supposed to observe her from a distance?"

Jane looked at Rigsby quizzically. "Well, yes you are, but I'm just a consultant. No way am I going to be a part of the mind numbing job of following her around. I'm sure you and the team can do that without me."

Rigsby frowned at Jane. "No, you'd much rather go talk to her face to face and get yourself and me into trouble." He didn't skip a beat.

Jane couldn't help being proud of Rigsby's bluntness. "I'm not going to get you into trouble. I won't even let on that you're here, even though she more than likely suspects that she's being followed." Jane reached out with his free hand, placed it on Rigsby's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Everything will be fine Rigsby. Erica likes to fancy herself an old friend of mine."

Jane removed his hand and handed a bewildered Rigsby his tea cup. He then sidestepped him and made his way across the lobby.

The hotel had an indoor pool that was surrounded by lounge chairs, with big white fluffy towels folded on each. It wasn't busy, there was only half a dozen people not counting Erica and her guards. Erica kicked her sandals off, removed her sarong tossing it to a chair and walked to the edge of the pool at the deep end. Just before she dived in she looked up at Jane and waved. He wasn't being inconspicuous at all. He wanted to talk to her, so there was no point trying to disguise his presence.

Her dive was executed with the proficiency of someone who had taken diving lessons over years. Jane was surprised that it'd never occurred to him that she might be swimmer. He walked to the edge of the pool and watched as she swam all the way over to him under the water, without taking a breath. She finally came up right where Jane was standing, took a deep breath, and rested her arms on the side of the pool, then her chin on her arms.

"Patrick, I was hoping I'd see you again. Only this time can we leave talk of putting me in prison alone." She smiled brightly. "It gets rather boring after a while, doesn't it?"

Jane returned her smile and bent down into a squat. "Speak for yourself. I'm rather fond of talking about and even thinking about ways of putting you into prison."

"You think about me?" she asked coyly. "How sweet." She nodded towards the end of the pool then swam off towards a ladder.

Jane stood up and followed her. She climbed out of the pool quickly and rung her hair out, then took a towel from the outstretched hands of one of her guards. She motioned for Jane to take a seat as she sat down. Jane looked at the menacing faces of her guards before taking a seat.

"There just protective, no need to worry about them," Erica told him noting the concerned expression on Jane's face.

"They look like they want to break me in half."

"Yes, charming really." She wiped her towel down her arms. "I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to do so if I asked, but they know I like you. They won't hurt you. I promise."

Jane shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and rested his hands on his knees. Two kids-a boy and a girl ran to the pool and jumped in both doing cannonballs. Jane's lip quirked up at them as they swam as quickly as they could back to the edge of the pool.

"So, what do I owe to this visit?" Erica asked letting her towel drop in her lap after she'd run it over her hair.

Jane looked back at her at her and smiled. "You're blatant homecoming."

She twisted her hair around her hand then let it drop to her shoulder before looking Jane in the eye. He watched curiously as her smile softened and her eyes became intent. "I missed you Patrick."

He looked away and shook his head in disbelief. "You missed the chase that's all."

"No," she said seriously, reaching her hand over and placing it on one of his. "Well, not entirely. I like playing with you, but even more than that I like having an equal."

Jane pulled his hand away from her, and she leaned back regretfully.

"I thought you would have moved past trying to seduce me by now. It didn't work so well for you last time, did it?"

She smiled coyly. "I wouldn't say that exactly. I do recall a kiss…"

Jane stood up. "I came here simply to let you know that I'd found you."

"Cute."

"No, just necessary." He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and turned from her.

"Well, if you're interested in finding me tomorrow, I'll be at our restaurant," she told him.

He was sure she wanted to say more, but she didn't, and he was glad of that. Perhaps Lisbon had been right. He did seem to have a weakness for mysterious women. He tried to ignore the memory of her saying criminal women as well, but not successfully. It just nagged at the back of his mind instead. A part of him was still intrigued by Erica, but another larger part of him, that sounded suspiciously like Lisbon and that seemed to have control of his motor functions moving him away from Erica, reminded him that he didn't want her that he deserved better than that.

* * *

Jane made his way quickly back to the CBI HQ, leaving Rigsby to follow Erica. He knew she'd find a way to ditch him eventually, but at least he could show a united front for Lisbon's suggestions. He stepped off the elevator and made his way towards the bullpen. He glanced in Lisbon's office and kept walking as he did, she wasn't there. He turned his head back in the direction he was walking and almost rammed into her, stopping a mere six inches from her. She was standing in front of him with her arms crossed, and a sour expression.

"You're late."

He smiled, and took a baby step back. "I know you talked to Rigsby already."

"Hm." She tilted her head in the direction of Jane's desk. "It seems you've taking a liking to putting flowers on your desk."

Jane looked at the hydrangea. "I think there's something to be said for the calming effects of flowers."

Lisbon rolled her eyes at the double meaning and walked around Jane. "Cut the crap, Jane. I know you put those flowers there for me to see. You didn't want to call me because you knew I wouldn't approve of your plan, but you also didn't want me to panic when I came in a found that you weren't here. They were a buffer."

Jane followed her back towards her office. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

She stopped at her door and turned back to look at him. "Jane, we need to talk."

Jane's brow furrowed as he stepped past Lisbon and into her office. Once he was inside she closed the door and locked it. Jane rolled back on his heels and stuck his right hand in his pocket. Something was wrong. "Lisbon, what's going on?"

Lisbon started closing the blinds, and motioned for Jane to help her. When they were all closed she grabbed a file off her desk, moved to the table near her couch and dropped the file on it. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Jane looked at the file and reached down to open it. He knew what it was the moment she'd grabbed it. What else would cause her to lock her office and close the blinds like she did? He opened it slowly and took a moment to look through each picture, and finally the one with a post-it note on it. It was the exact same file that Sinclair had, only the message left for Teresa was more personal than the one left in Sinclair's file. He hesitated briefly before looking up and into Lisbon's waiting eyes. There was no way he could keep what he knew a secret from her any longer. Red John was forcing his hand.

"Stephen Sinclair, Jane?" She didn't sound happy, but he hadn't expected her too. "Mark Randle, Mike Phelps, Senator Hastings, Dr. Nielson… amongst others, and then to top it off, pictures of me with you, sometimes just of me, and a fun note," she picked up the post-it and turned it to Jane—her eyebrows raised, "Friday, 9:30. Are you ready Teresa?" She pointed to the red smiley face.

Jane wanted to look away, not have her eyes burning into him, but he couldn't be weak. Admittedly this put a wrench in his plans, but he would have told her soon anyway.

"Let me see if I understand this…" she continued. "You've been off with Shady criminals, PI's that we've investigated and have been hobnobbing with San Francisco's most influential, while Red John's been stalking us. Seems like a great use of your time." Her voice was full of venom. "What's going on Jane?"

"Just your brilliant plan in action." He watched her brows scrunch but continued childishly. "I told you that pretending to have feelings for me would only get you killed."

Her face dropped, and even though Jane meant what he had said, he felt immediately remorseful. Her face hardened. "What are you talking about?"

He continued, only this time his voice softened. He knew this would be a blow for her, and that she would be mad, so he tried not to sound harsh. "Lorelei didn't say 'message.' She said 'gift.'"

Lisbon looked confused, and tilted her head ever so slightly to the side.

"Red John didn't say he was sending me a message. He said he would be giving me a gift and more than implied that you would be that gift." He plowed through it, holding her gaze the entire time. When he finished speaking he heard a barely audible intake of breath from her. It only took her a moment to compose herself.

"You should have told me." Her head bobbed once angrily as she spoke.

"No," Jane said shaking his head.

"Red John has been stalking me, you…" she stuttered, "us—for several months. You didn't think I had a right to know that?"

Jane stopped shaking his head. "I only just found out myself yesterday. As for Red John's message… there were things I needed to do, to protect you."

"Damn-it Jane! How many times have I told you that I don't need you to protect me?" Her arms unfolded and her hands were now clenched into fists at her sides. "I am a cop. I can take care of myself. What I needed from you was the truth, but once again, you decided that I didn't deserve to hear it!"

It hit Jane so quickly it took him a second to recognize it: anger—and it was filling his entire body. "You don't get it do you." His voice was calm, but it was low and menacing and he almost couldn't believe it was his. "I didn't tell you because I care about you."

"That's a lousy way to show it!"

He stepped almost aggressively towards her. Holding his fury back was becoming exponentially harder. "What would you have done if I had told you?" He didn't wait for her answer and plowed on. "Nothing, there's nothing you could have done. You would've gone all cold faced, and behaved like a martyr and would have suffered in your fear in silence. I needed you here, Teresa, present and not waiting for Red John to come and get you. There was nothing you could do, but there was something I could do and this was the only way I knew how to do it."

"Right, because you consorting with criminals makes me feel all sorts of safe. How'd that work out for you by the way?" She lifted her hands questioningly, and her tone was harsh.

It hadn't worked the way he wanted admittedly, but he had something now that he hadn't had before. An exact time.

"When are you gonna learn, Jane." She backed up a little. "When are you gonna learn that I don't want you to protect me?"

And that was it. He couldn't hold it back any longer. The anger was exploding from his core. Her reached out and grabbed her shoulders hard. "No, when are you going to get?" He shook her, a little. "You're all I have left, and I will be damned…" he shook her once again, "if I don't do everything in my power including lying to you, or making deals with criminals if necessary, to protect you."

She looked up at him shocked by his forcefulness. "Jane…"

"This isn't a one way street, Lisbon." He let go of her shoulders. He thought she might back up but she stayed right where she was only inches from him. His stomach flipped, but he continued, his voice still cold. "You don't get to care about me, protect, and be there for me and expect that I won't do the same for you." He stepped back unable to handle the closeness any longer and pointed a finger at her. "You talk about us being partners—family even, but it's not okay for me to worry about you or look after you? Why Lisbon?"

Lisbon swallowed hard and pulled herself together. "I'm a cop Jane. You're not."

Jane took another step back and looked away from her while shaking his head. "You know what? I am tired of the same old argument." He took another step back. "That means nothing to me!" he spat. "I will do what I need to do to protect you, whether you like it or not." At that he turned, unlocked her door and stormed out of her office.

* * *

It was nearly ten in the evening when Lisbon finally decided to call it a night. She had stayed longer than she really needed to, but couldn't stand the idea of going home alone to her thoughts. Logically she knew she was the one who should be protecting Jane, not the other way around, but his confession that she was all he had left, and that he didn't care that she was a cop and that he wasn't, had hit her hard.

She got into her car started the ignition, slowly backed out of her spot and made her way out of the CBI parking lot.

Jane hadn't been there when his family was killed. He hadn't even had the opportunity to protect them. Of course he would be mad at her. They _were_ like family, and Red John had basically put a time limit on her life and she was scolding Jane for trying to protect her. She felt selfish, guilty, and if she was being honest more than a little scared. She knew Jane was only doing what he thought was right, that he was only trying to keep her alive.

She'd been avoiding calling him all day. She had been too humiliated—didn't know what she would say, but she couldn't leave it like this. She knew she'd fight for her life, and Jane was obviously willing to go to extremes to protect her, nonetheless, she couldn't ignore the fact that when Red John decided to kill someone, they always ended up dead. In light of this fact, she couldn't let even a day go by without fixing this rift between them.

It didn't take her long to reach the motel where Jane was staying. She parked at the curb across the street from his hotel and was about to get out when something caught her attention. Movement at Jane's door. She looked up and out of the driver's side window and saw Erica Flynn standing in Jane's doorway. She was wearing a rain coat that went to her mid-thigh, and must have been wearing a tiny skirt under that because Lisbon couldn't see it. Jane's door opened slowly, and light spilled out onto the pavement in front of his room, followed momentarily by a tired and disheveled looking Jane.

He was wearing jeans and the same button up shirt he'd had on earlier today. It was unbuttoned exposing his chest. Erica said something to him, to which he responded by looking nervously around outside. He finally returned his gaze to Erica, brow scrunched and waved her in. Lisbon could see a little smirk on her face as she passed through his door.

The door shut, the light on the pavement disappeared, and Lisbon breathed. She hadn't realized that she'd been holding her breath. The knot that had been in her throat when Jane had stormed off earlier had come back. She sat quietly for a moment, not sure what she should do. She felt embarrassed and angry, but she wasn't sure why. She had no reason to be embarrassed, and while she was sure she had every right to be angry, she wasn't sure she was angry at him for the right reasons.

She quickly re-buckled her seatbelt and drove away. She had wanted to apologize to him, had driven clear across town after a long tiring day to do so, and he was yet again consorting with the enemy. Her mind quickly wandered to Lorelei, wondering how similar a situation to this had gotten her into Jane's bed. A shiver ran up her spine, goose bumps started rising on her arms, and she felt suddenly very queasy.

**Please let me know what you think. **


	12. Kiss Kiss

**Thanks once again to Canterlevi the Wonderful for proofreading my chapter. **

**Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I was so flattered by the wonderful things you said, and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations!**

Chapter 12 Kiss Kiss

Jane awakened to a light tapping at his door. He stared up at the ceiling not sure if he'd dreamt the sound or if it was real. Then he heard it again. He rolled to his side, sat up then stood slowly. He reached for his shirt which he had draped over the back of one of the chairs at the table. He heard another tap as he stuck his arms in his shirt sleeves and made his way to the door. It had to be Lisbon. Who else would be knocking at his door at this hour. Besides, they needed to talk. He opened the door slowly and peeked out.

"Hello Patrick."

_Not Lisbon…_

His eyes widened in surprise and he opened the door the rest of the way. "Erica?" His voice was raspy and he swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" she stopped talking abruptly and shoved some loose hair behind her ear. "Would you believe me if I told you that I wanted to see you?"

Jane smiled and shook his head at the same time.

Erica smiled a little too. "Can I come in?" she asked.

Jane took a step out of his door and looked around. "No guards?"

"They're here," she said slyly.

He shrugged, stepped back as he waved her in, and then shut the door behind her. "What do you want Erica?" Jane made his way over to the sink across the room, turned on the cold water and splashed his face.

"This can't just be an innocent visit?" Erica asked while Jane patted his face dry with a white hand towel.

Jane had noticed her short coat and it didn't pass his attention that there didn't appear to be a skirt beneath it. This was not an 'innocent visit.' He ignored her question. He turned back to face her, then started buttoning his shirt from the bottom up as he walked back towards her.

"Please don't feel you have to cover up on my account." Erica smiled lightly while she fiddled with the tie on her coat.

Jane looked up briefly before returning his gaze to his buttons. "And you want me to believe this is an innocent visit?"

Erica laughed. "Yes, well I guess I just got to thinking about the last time we were in a hotel room together…"

"We've been over this before, Erica. It's dead in the water." Jane fumbled with one of the buttons on his shirt. He still felt drowsy and was having a hard time with them.

"Are you sure?" she asked coyly. "I saw you looking me over at the pool earlier."

Jane smiled and shrugged. There was no point denying it. "I'm sure. Now, if you want to tell me why you're really here, then we'll have something to talk about." He grabbed one of the remaining two buttons on his shirt, but stopped when Erica abruptly let her coat drop to the floor. He looked up just in time to see her standing before him in a black lacy negligee, before she crossed the room, slid her hands inside his shirt and kissed him.

His eyes bulged in surprise as her lips met his. Her arms slid out of his shirt and around his neck. Jane's mind went blank and he tried desperately to regain his train of thought, but despite his inability to think his body did the strangest thing. It reacted without his mind realizing what was going on and in a different way than what he would have expected. His arms reached up to hers unbidden. She took this as a good sign and melded herself to him. His hands tightened on her wrist, unhitched them from his neck and pushed her away. His eyes refocused, his body was tense and he could feel his thoughts coming back to him.

"Erica, no." His voice was firm.

Her eyes opened and were hazy. She winced. "Is… is this about my husband?"

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Which one? The one you had murdered or the one you're currently cheating on?" He was not a cheater, at least Lisbon couldn't add that to her ridiculous and unwarranted list of women she thought he was attracted to.

Erica's face dropped at his harsh words and she twisted her hands in his grasp. "You're hurting me," she said quietly. He hadn't realized how tightly he'd been holding her away from him. He dropped her hands and took a step back.

"I can't do this." Jane looked down, wanting to avoid eye contact.

"Why not?" she whimpered. "You wanted me before, and I wanted you. I still do."

Jane looked up and into her eyes again. He had been confused before. He _had_ wanted her before, even if it was just for a short time, and despite her con in that moment he knew she had wanted him too. It was part of the reason he'd left.

She continued, "Just think... think of how good we could be together." She stepped toward him again and cupped his cheek in her hand.

He reached up and took her hand and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "Erica, I can't be with you." He removed her hand from his face, but continued to hold it.

Her face filled with disappointment. "Is this because of Agent Lisbon?"

Jane's gaze flew back to Erica's face. "What?" He dropped her hand. "No," he said abruptly. The last thing he was interested in doing was talking about Lisbon with Erica. Besides, their fight was still fresh and the anger he'd felt from it was still boiling under the surface. "No, it has nothing to do with her."

He tried to push back the irritation he'd felt when it'd been Erica at the door and not Lisbon. He thought for sure Lisbon would've swallowed her pride and come to visit him by now. Now he wasn't sure who he was more angry with, Lisbon for coming to talk to him about their fight or Erica for bringing Lisbon up.

"I saw the way you two were looking at each other yesterday at the restaurant," Erica told him. She crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest. He watched Erica's face as she made her assertion. It was sad and disappointed. It was the expression of someone who had just found out that the person they loved was in love with someone else. It was heartbroken. She finally looked down and away from his eyes.

Her expression and her inference about him and Lisbon confused him. She didn't seem like the kind of person who jumped to rash and unwarranted conclusions, but here she was doing just that. Women seemed to be jumping to the same conclusion about him and Lisbon lately. First Lorelei, then Aria, and now Erica. Jane wondered why women were so dramatic. Furthermore Erica hardly even knew Jane and it didn't make sense that she could feel so much for him. It had to be a scam. What was she up to?

"Erica…"

She looked up at him hopefully, her eyes were starting to shimmer. He thought for a moment about playing along, trying to figure it out, but he couldn't do it. He didn't want to do it. He wanted nothing more than for her to be as far away from him in this moment as possible. "I think you should leave," he told her somberly.

Her eyes were now sparkling and Jane hoped that she wouldn't start crying. She took a deep breath and nodded. She turned from him, picked up her jacket and put it back on then went to the door. Jane stuck his hands in his front pants pockets. When she reached the door she opened it, looked back over her shoulder at him one last time, then left, shutting the door behind her.

Jane felt himself shudder as soon as the door shut. He walked over to it and locked it, then shuffled backwards all the way up to his bed. He felt behind himself for the mattress then sat on it weakly. He took several calming breaths. Erica's visit had felt too close for comfort, and her conclusions about him and Lisbon—awkward.

_Lisbon…_ He huffed. Lisbon's words about not wanting him to protect her came rushing back to his mind. He tried to push back Lisbon's irrational ideas about what she thought was appropriate for him to feel, and how he should behave.

The fight had obviously been a bigger deal to him than he had realized. He couldn't stop thinking about it. She had been out of line to tell him it wasn't his place to take care of her, but he was willing to concede that she had a point about his lying to her. He did keep her in the dark, frequently, and even though he did it to protect her, he knew that it hurt her when he did.

He took a deep breath then noticed something on the floor: a button. One of his buttons. He looked down at his shirt and saw string dangling from where the button had been. It must have popped off when Erica stuck her hands in his shirt. He shook his head. Erica had just thrown herself at him, and he was obsessing over his fight with Lisbon.

His eyes widened as something occurred to him. Erica was being followed. Someone from the team, maybe even Lisbon, had just seen Erica come into his room, and if it wasn't Lisbon she'd still know about it by morning. He rolled his eyes and fell back onto his jumbled blankets. He couldn't imagine things being any more complicated.

* * *

Lisbon sat in her office doing paper work when she heard a knock on the frame of her door. She looked up as Van Pelt walked into her office.

"What's up Grace?"

"I think we're going to need help following Erica. I lost her last night when she left the Ritz. I'm almost positive she knew she was being followed and…"

Van Pelt's voice was drowned out by Lisbon's thoughts. She was having a really difficult time focusing. Pictures of Erica going into Jane's room fought with the knowledge of Red John stalking her and had won over whatever it was that Van Pelt was saying. Lisbon reached across her desk and started organizing her pencils.

"Boss… Boss are you okay?" Van Pelt asked.

Lisbon looked up and was abruptly brought back to reality. "What…? Yes. Sorry."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fi…" she began, then stopped her kneejerk response to that question and looked around her office. Jane had been right about her. Why was she so determined to suffer, alone, in silence? She had people who wanted to help her, people whom she trusted. She looked up into Van Pelt's worried face. "You know what? I'm not okay, actually."

Van Pelt took a step towards her desk, her eyes widening. "What's wrong?"

Lisbon fought the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't that bad was she? "Go grab Cho and Rigsby and bring them in here." She took a deep breath.

"Okay," Van Pelt said looking at Lisbon apprehensively.

Lisbon brought her thumb and index finger to the bridge of her nose. "I'm in trouble."

* * *

Jane waited in the prison's interrogation room for the guards to bring Lorelei. He tapped the table with his right hand pointer finger. Normally she would have been in here before he'd gotten here, but he'd shown up unexpectedly and without an appointment. So he had to wait. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He was beginning to rethink his impulse. He stood up abruptly and walked towards the door. This had definitely been a bad idea. Right as he reached for the door it opened and Lorelei was led in by a guard.

Jane took a step back and Lorelei smiled at him as she was taken to her seat. Jane stood silently where he'd been when the door opened, until the guard left the room.

"Were you going somewhere… lover?" She still obviously thought the use of the word "lover" suited her purposes.

Jane walked back to the table and placed his right hand on the back of the metal chair. It was cold on his skin. He felt his brow scrunch as he thought about why he was here. Why had he come? What was it that he wanted? Jane tapped his lips with the index finger of his left hand, once, twice, three times. Lorelei continued to smile pleasantly at him, waiting for him to speak. He knew why he'd come. For Lisbon. He was going to keep the promise he'd made to always save her. He pulled the chair out and sat down. "What does he want?"

Lorelei didn't waste time beating around the bush and Jane was glad for that. "He wants to show you that he could've been an asset for you in your life." Her face was serious. "You denied his friendship…"

"I don't care about what he wants to show me, I want to know what it'll take to get him to leave Lisbon alone."

She sat up a little straighter. "Patrick, have you come here to beg?" she asked sounding triumphant. Jane took note of this before asking his next question. Her reaction to it would be important.

"What if I did?" he asked coolly.

"Red John doesn't want you to beg." The sound of triumph disappeared and was replaced with earnestness. "He thinks of you as an equal." She reached her hand across the table, but he quickly moved his hands back, leaned away from her and looked towards the concrete wall.

"Then what does he want?"

She sat quietly for a second. "He wants you to learn."

* * *

Jane walked slowly out of the elevator and towards the bullpen, thinking about his meeting with Lorelei. As he approached Lisbon's office he heard talking and slowed down to listen before coming into anyone's line of sight.

"Friday at 9:30. Friday, as in three day from today—Friday?" Cho asked.

"No. I don't think so anyway," Lisbon spoke softly. "A week from Friday is exactly one month from when Lorelei gave Jane Red John's message. It was to be exactly a month."

He heard someone's foot taping. He figured it was probably Rigsby. Jane leaned up against the pillar near Lisbon's office, plunged both hands into his jacket pockets, and crossed one of his legs in front of the other.

"So what do you want us to do boss?" Grace asked.

"Friday at 9:30. It's pretty specific. Maybe it's a message." Lisbon's voice sounded strange. "Maybe it's a throwback to one of his murders. We can start with that, and we should also see if there's anything happening on that day at that time, maybe there's something he wants to draw our attention to."

"And what about you?" Rigsby voice chimed in.

The room went silent again and Jane could picture what Lisbon was doing in his head. More than likely she had lowered her head and was thinking about what to say. "I don't want to sensationalize this, and I don't want to put any of you in unnecessary danger."

"Boss…" Van Pelt's voice chimed in.

"I know you're worried about me, but the best thing we can do right now is work with what we have." The office was eerily quiet for a moment. Jane knew the team wasn't happy with Lisbon's decision. Her voice finally broke through the silence. "I'll make you a deal, okay? When Friday night rolls around, you can all stick to me like glue if it'll make you feel better. I know it'd make me feel better."

Jane smiled. She'd taken what he'd said to heart. She was finally asking for help.

"Of course we will boss, but what if Friday is just a decoy? What if he wants to get you alone before then?" Rigsby asked.

Jane moved from his position at the pillar, came around the corner of her office while Rigsby was talking and stepped in, effectively silencing everyone in the room. They all looked at him, including Lisbon. Cho and Rigsby were seated at Lisbon's table and Van Pelt was sitting in the chair that was in front of Lisbon's desk. Lisbon was leaning forward with her hands clasped over the file that Red John had sent. He found Lisbon's eyes, made eye contact and held it.

"It's not just a decoy," he said responding to Rigsby's question "Red John wants to show me how powerful he is. He gives us a day and time, and then…" he didn't have to finish his sentence. Lisbon made no move to look away. He felt pride swelling inside him for Lisbon. He knew that this hadn't been easy for her. "I'm proud of you Lisbon," Jane told her quietly.

Lisbon nodded almost unnoticeably, but didn't say anything. He could feel the team staring uncomfortable between the two of them, but he didn't care. Lisbon looked so tired. He suddenly felt very guilty about Erica, even though he knew it was ridiculous to feel that way, and wanted to talk to Lisbon alone before she could jump to conclusions.

"I still think this should be our first priority. We drop everything else…" Cho began.

Lisbon finally pulled her gaze away from Jane's and looked at Cho. "No. We still need to catch Erica. We're professionals and I'm not going to let a threat from Red John dictate our actions."

"Surveillance isn't working so well," Van Pelt repeated.

Lisbon's head dropped. She was thinking again.

Jane saw this as the perfect opportunity to get her alone. "I know where she is," he offered quickly.

Lisbon looked up at him again, but this time she looked hurt. Jane flinched uncomfortably at her expression.

"Where?" Lisbon asked, as her normal cool expression replaced the one of hurt.

"I'll show you." He reached a hand out towards her beckoning her to come with him.

Cho stood up. "I think it's my turn to watch Erica," he offered quickly.

Lisbon stood up and looked over at him. "It's okay, Cho. I need to get out of the office." She walked around her desk and to her door, but stopped abruptly and turned back to the team. "Thank you," she told them before leaving.

Jane watched her leave then looked back at the team gratefully before following after her. He wasn't the only one who was going to fight for Lisbon. He'd seen many of his emotions in the team's faces and took comfort in it. Red John was formidable, but so were they.

* * *

Jane and Lisbon sat quietly at a secluded back booth in the restaurant where Jane had eaten with Erica before she'd escaped. They could see her clearly, but she couldn't see them. Jane was feeling cowardly. Lisbon had insisted they take separate cars, arguing that he wouldn't want to stay on surveillance with her for very long. He had told Rigsby, after all, that surveillance was boring. Now he wished he hadn't said that because Lisbon was using it as an excuse to make distance between them and he frankly had zero desire to leave her side as long as this business with Red John was going on. Reasonably he knew that Red John would not try anything until Friday at 9:30, but he was still afraid for Lisbon and if he was being perfectly honest he was afraid for himself too.

Lisbon sipped from her cola, then leaned back against the cushioned booth, never moving her eyes from Erica. Jane kept his eyes on Lisbon. He knew he needed to say something, he just needed to suck it up and get it over with.

He leaned forward placing both hands on the table, then tapped her glass with his right hand's fingers, getting her attention. "Lisbon, I need to tell you something about Erica."

She looked over at him quickly, her look of hurt returning briefly, and then started speaking before he could continue. "You were right… Those things you said to me in my office."

Jane was shocked. Had Lisbon just said he was right?

"Family shouldn't be a one way street, neither should partners. I don't always understand your methods and I have strong feeling that whatever you've been doing is gonna come back to bite us in the…," she stopped talking abruptly and looked him the eye. "I'm sorry," she told him.

Jane leaned back and fought to keep his jaw from dropping.

"Whatever you've done was for my benefit, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same for you if I thought it'd keep you alive even a day longer." She looked down and despite her efforts to hide it, Jane could see that she was afraid.

Jane's heart started thumping—loudly. He leaned towards her again. "Teresa. I'm not going to let Red John hurt you. You don't need to be afraid."

"I know Jane. It'll all work out." She was playing with the table cloth, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry too," he confessed. "I hate fighting with you."

Lisbon chuckled and looked up at him again. "Sure," she said incredulously.

"Teresa, bantering and fighting are two different things. We don't fight often, so you can believe when I tell you that fighting with you makes me very uncomfortable." He bowed his head a little making sure she was looking him in the eyes as he spoke.

She nodded. "I don't like fighting with you either." She looked at her hands. "As a matter of fact, I dislike it so much that I came by your room last night to talk to you about it." she seemed to get some of her confidence back as she addressed him.

This was the kind of thing Lisbon would normally say to start a fight, but Jane could see that wasn't her intention. She just looked resolved. His stomach flipped. He felt sick at what she must have seen. Why? Why had he been so worried and why was he sick now that he knew she had seen Erica come into his room?

"You saw Erica come to my room…?"

She nodded, then looked over at Erica and shook her head lightly.

Then Jane did something he hadn't expected he would while having this conversation. He smiled, and felt a weight lift off his shoulders as he did. He was pleased in some perverse way that Lisbon was..._ jealous_. He wasn't happy she was hurt, but she wouldn't be for long.

Lisbon took a deep breath. "You know what? Following her is a waste of time. We're never gonna catch her alone. We'll have to figure something else out." She grabbed her cola and took one more sip out of it before sliding to the edge of the booth.

"Wait. I need to tell you something."

She stopped moving, but started shaking her head again. "Jane, I really don't want to hear about your love… life. Especially when it involves dangerous criminals… I really don't want to be disappointed by your choice in women. Just let me be blissfully ignorant." She looked back at Erica again.

"I didn't sleep with her," he said abruptly.

Lisbon's head whipped back towards Jane.

"She wanted to… came on pretty strong too," he told her and was pleased when her face flushed. He smiled. "She had on sexy lingerie…" he was starting to think this was funny.

"Jane, please." She gave him a dirty look.

"I have a point."

"Then get to it…" Lisbon said threateningly, while circling her hand as if saying get on with it.

"I pushed her off." Lisbon's face dropped, at the visual Jane was purposely drawing for her, and her head went into her hand as she grimaced. "I didn't want her. Then she brought you up, and I kicked her out, and got all irritated about _our_ fight again."

Lisbon looked up at him, her brow was scrunched, then she looked sideways, like she was trying to figure out where this conversation was going.

"How could I be with a woman that couldn't even get my attention away from our argument whilst wearing lacy black lingerie and literally throwing herself at me."

Lisbon looked at him ruthlessly. "Yeah, that is pretty pathetic."

Jane raised his hands palms up and nodded.

"I've got to get back to the office." She slid the rest of the way out of the booth and started to walk away as Jane pulled out his wallet. Then she stopped, turned and walked back over to Jane. He looked up and smiled, then looked back at his wallet and started thumbing through some bills. Before he could pull the money out she reached down with her right hand grabbed his chin with her hand lightly, then leaned down and planted a light kiss on his cheek. At first he was shocked, but his eyes closed almost instinctually.

After a couple of seconds she stood up and backed away. He looked up at her questioningly. She was smiling brightly.

"What was that for?" He asked in a whisper.

"For telling me about Erica even though I didn't want to hear it." She stuck her hands in her front jean pockets. "Sometimes I think your soul purpose in life is to irritate the living daylights out of me, then other times you give me exactly what I need even though I didn't know I needed it." She smiled at him lightly for a moment longer. "I'll see you at the office?"

He nodded slowlly. She turned and left, and Jane saw that Erica noticed her go.

Jane leaned back into the booth, feeling stunned. Lisbon had just kissed him. No, she'd just kissed him on the cheek, there was a difference. He'd been kissed on the cheek before. It wasn't that big of deal, he'd even kissed women on the cheek before. On several occasions. So why did he feel like this?

When Erica had kissed him last night he hadn't felt like this, he'd felt something closer to this when he'd been with Lorelei, closer, but still not the same. Jane pulled out a handful of ones and dropped them down on the table, then stood up and made his way out of the restaurant as well. He heard Erica call his name as he reached the door, but he ignored her.

He got in his car and started for the CBI HQ. He was only a few minutes behind Lisbon. He pulled out of the parking lot trying to ignore the butterflies that were taking up residence in his stomach. He gripped the steering wheel hard. He hadn't felt this way since he was a teenager. It was ridiculous. It had to be the stress from this count down with Red John. It was the only thing that made sense.

The thought of her lips on his cheek popped into his mind as his car reached the speed limit. He shook his head, and hardened his face. This was infuriating. First he was obsessing about their fight and now that they weren't fighting he was starting to obsess over a silly kiss.

He tapped his finger on the steering wheel as it occurred to him what was happening. Lisbon was the only real friend—real person he had left in his life, and he was facing her mortality. He was so afraid for her that he was overthinking everything that was happening between them. He took a deep breath and could feel his heart start to calm. He wasn't going to lose her. It wasn't an option, so he could relax. He smirked again, amused at himself for how delighted he'd felt. No matter how soft her lips were she was still Lisbon after all.

**Please let me know what you think. You know these kinds of chapters always make me nervous. I try really hard to keep them IC, but it's hard to know for sure how they would act in these circumstances because they haven't been in them yet... Yikes! I hope you all liked it!**


	13. Left Alone

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. I'll be updating again soon. Thanks to Canterlevi for proofreading. She's awesome as usual!**

Chapter 13 Left Alone

Jane sat on his couch, with his tea cup on his armrest, a file in his lap and a stack of three or four files to his right. It was close to midnight. The team sat at the conference table discussing different Red John cases. They'd been staying later and later as the week went on, frustrated, and determined to find something—anything. He was impressed with how well they had come to know the Red John case. They almost knew the case as well as he did. Not quite but close. He'd only had to jump in a couple of times over the last week to correct them on incorrect suppositions.

He glanced up from his file and towards the table across the room. They were all working hard, but he could see that they were tired. He wasn't. He felt wide awake. Adrenaline had been coursing through his body increasingly so as the week went on. Cho and Van Pelt seemed the most alert, and were eagerly looking through files, Rigsby was alert enough, but hungry and Lisbon had her head resting in her hand. She was exhausted; probably hadn't slept since Red John had sent her his creepy stalker file.

He looked back down at his file again. There was nothing in it that would be at all useful. He closed it, set it aside then stood up, moved over to his desk and grabbed a couple more files from a stack he'd left there.

Lisbon seemed to become more alert as she saw Jane moving. She sat up straight and looked around at her team, then came to a conclusion. "Guys, I think we'd better call it a night."

"We're still good," Grace said avoiding Lisbon's eye contact as she continued looking through her file.

"I appreciate it, but we'll all be useless unless we get some sleep," she told them.

"Says the woman who hasn't slept in a week," Cho said, while turning a page in his file.

Jane leaned up against his desk and watched the team interact. Rigsby was smirking at Cho's comment. Lisbon rolled her eyes. Jane clutched his files to his chest. He could see that Lisbon wasn't going to back down.

"I'm not asking," she said forcefully. "Go home, get some sleep. I'll see you all in the morning." She pushed her chair away from the table, but stayed seated.

The team looked over at her. Grace was irritated, but she did what she was told as did Rigsby and Cho. Jane moved back to his couch and sat down as the team gathered their stuff.

Rigsby stretched and looked over at Jane. "You coming, Jane?"

Jane barely managed to shake his head no in response as he noticed the name on the file he was holding in his hands: Kristina Fry.

Lisbon stood up, turned the lamps on the conference table off, leaving the bull pen almost completely dark with the exception being the lamp on Jane's desk, and then walked to the elevators with the team. Jane slowly opened his file; A picture of Kristina was paper clipped to the top of the first sheet. Her hair was pulled back and she was resting her head on the back of her hand. Jane felt the familiar pang of guilt he could almost say he'd grown accustomed to.

The light in Lisbon's office flicked on as he turned Kristina's picture over and began reading her file. He could hear Lisbon rummaging around in her desk and a moment later the light in her office turned out again and she was walking back through the bullpen and to his couch. He'd stopped reading as he noticed her walking towards him, but pretended to be deeply entrenched in what he was doing anyway. He raised his brows trying to make it seem as if he were reading something very interesting.

She stopped in front of him. Her hands were tucked in her jean's pockets and the cream leather jacket she'd worn today was through one of her arms. "Jane," she said sensibly. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you were a detective, my dear." He turned a page.

"Don't be flippant," she said removing her hands from her pockets and crossing them in front of her v-necked white t-shirted chest.

"Are you leaving," Jane queried while crossing his legs. He looked up from his file and into her eyes.

She started to motion to her jacket, but stopped and looked at him curiously, then she looked away. "You know I'm not."

He was glad she was being sensible enough to know better than lying to him. Jane shook his head and returned his gaze to Kristina's file. "You stay, I stay," he told her coolly.

Lisbon took a deep breath, walked over to the couch and placed her coat over the back of it. Jane kept his attention on her but his eyes on his file. He didn't want her to know that he was curious about what she was doing. She reached down to the pile of files that Jane had stacked in the center of the couch and picked them up. She moved them over to Jane's desk, then came back and sat in the now available center cushion, next to Jane. She crossed her legs and looked over at him. She didn't say anything for a moment, just looked at him. He could feel the hair rising on the back of his neck.

"Give me one of those files," she finally said.

His brow creased and he looked over at her. "What are doing, Teresa?" he mocked.

"Same thing you are, Patrick."

He smirked and slid the file under Kristina's file out and placed it in Lisbon's waiting hand. She took it from him and as she did, Jane saw her eyes brush over his file.

"Kristina?" Her voice was quiet.

Jane stiffened and he knew it was noticeable. "Yes," was all he could manage. Normally he would have deflected her query, but he felt incapable. Instead he tried to continue reading and hoped she'd drop it. He knew she was watching him again. She had enough to worry about, she didn't need to start worrying about him too. "I'm fine, Teresa."

"I know you are. You're strong Patrick." She looked down at her file and opened it, almost dismissively. "The strongest person I've ever met. I know you don't think you are, but you are." She was so nonchalant.

Jane couldn't look at her. He knew what she was trying to infer. That he would be fine if something happened to her, that he'd be strong. It made him feel sick. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. He squirmed uneasily on his cushion. How could she say that to him? Besides, he couldn't believe that she was trying to use suggestion on him. After all, he was the mentalist here. He knew all the tricks. She couldn't possible think it'd work.

He reigned in his emotions, which mostly consisted of anger, enough to respond. "Don't do that…"

"You know you never told me…" she cut Jane off mid-sentence. "When we were investigating the death of Hector Brava, how did you know that the bartender was pimping women?"

Jane smiled, "Uh. Yes, well the night we went to talk to Mr. Sharif, I was solicited a couple of times."

Lisbon sat up straight. "What?" She sounded irritated, and that pleased Jane.

"You wanted to know," Jane told her. "Besides it ended up being very useful, did it not?" Now it was his turn to be nonchalant. He turned another page in his file.

"Useful? You embarrassed the life out of me!" she said as she shut her file aggressively and turned her head towards Jane.

"I did not," Jane said defensively. "That doesn't even make sense. What a ridiculous statement. How can you embarrass the life out of someone?"

"You're pretty adventurous, right?" Lisbon said in her best impersonation of Jane. "Because my lady gets a little out there at times."

Jane looked towards her. "Interesting," he smirked, closing his file. "You recall my exact words."

She pointed her finger at him. "Don't you dare pull your mentalist crap on me. You knew it would embarrass me. Why didn't you just have Kristina do it?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Why would I have done that?" Jane's brow furrowed and his fingers tapped his file.

"I was a half an hour away. Kristina was already there and it wouldn't have bothered her to help you at all, I'm sure." Lisbon's legs turned towards Jane just a little a she spoke.

"No, but it wouldn't have been as much fun for me." Jane said not even trying to hide his amusement.

"Oh please, you were flirting up a storm with her. Granted you were a little awkward…"

"Awkward?" Jane feigned offense and his legs turned towards her.

"Uh huh," she continued as though he hadn't interrupted her "…but I don't believe that it would've affected your fun whatsoever." Lisbon was now smirking at him, and he couldn't help but smile in return.

"Well, I felt more comfortable with you." He hadn't thought through this answer, it had just popped out. His face dropped momentarily at his open air realization. He smiled again quickly when he noticed Lisbon's smile drop a little too. "Besides, you know how I like riling you up," he told her as he turned away from her and opened his file again.

"That I do." She smiled again too, but it wasn't the same smile she'd had a moment ago. She turned away from him opened her file and began looking through it again.

Jane looked intently at his file, but nothing registered. His mind was too busy reeling. He had liked Kristina Fry, it wasn't a secret from anyone. He'd gone on a date with her and had been worried sick after her stupid stunt on the talk show. He remembered his fight with her at her house, when she'd asked him what he thought he'd do if Red John showed up right now, and when she'd asked him to leave.

Then he remembered when the next day, Lisbon had smiled at him kindly and had told him to call Kristina. Lisbon had always been supportive, loving and kind. Had always been there for him. This was no secret either, but this knowledge suddenly felt much more concentrated. It coursed through him more intensely than the adrenaline that had been pumping him up all week.

Her shoulder brushed his as she repositioned herself on the couch, getting comfortable and settling in for a long night. He felt his lip quirk up a little at the side.

* * *

A couple of hours went by before Jane finished looking through Kristina's file. He'd become so engrossed in it that he hadn't noticed when Lisbon had drifted off. It wasn't until he suddenly felt her head fall to his shoulder and her body pin his right arm that he became aware of more than just her presence next to him. He stiffened and turned his head awkwardly to look down at her sleeping peacefully on his shoulder as he closed his file. She had to be exhausted if she could fall asleep like this. She looked relaxed, he couldn't remember the last time she looked this relaxed. He tossed his file on the floor, then took hers from her hand, closed it and dropped it next to his on the floor.

Then he looked at his desk and the other files that sat there waiting to be looked through. Lisbon shuddered lightly, reminding him once again where her head was resting. He thought for a moment about moving her. His desire to grab another file was almost equally proportionate to his desire to let her sleep. He knew she'd probably wake up if he moved her. He looked at the files once more, then shrugged. He couldn't move her. Doing so seemed cruel, somehow. This was more than likely the most sleep she'd gotten and would get in a week.

He reached for his suit jacket that was behind him on the couch with his left hand, being careful not to jolt her, then tossed it over her shoulders. He felt her snuggle into his jacket and closer to him. The butterflies he'd felt when she'd kissed his cheek returned. Only this time he didn't fight them, rationalizing that he was tired.

He bent his head towards the top of hers mechanically and breathed in the smell of her hair: cherries and almonds. Jane's eyes rolled back and he swallowed. He slowly moved his left arm that she was leaning against, up around her back. Her back arched forward as he moved. He panicked for a second, worried that his lack of self-control had woken her up, but her eyes remained shut and her breathing calm. Once he was sure she was still asleep, he let his right hand come to a rest on her right hip. He looked down at her once more and felt a smile creep over his face. He scooted down on the sofa just a little, then leaned his head back against it and closed his eyes.

* * *

Lisbon twitched then felt cold and like she was falling. She reached her left hand out instinctually to catch herself. Her hand gripped what it landed on and her eyes flew open. She looked around, realizing that she'd fallen asleep in the bullpen. It was still dark outside. She felt groggy, but was quickly brought out of it when she heard a moan next to her. She looked over and saw Jane. His eyes were blinking open and his hair was all mussed. She could feel his arm around her waist, and it was only then that she noticed that her hand was on his thigh. She pulled it away quickly as Jane's arm came out from behind her back and joined the other in a stretch above his head.

"Good morning Teresa," he said through a yawn. He leaned back against the couch again and closed his eyes.

Her heart started beating rapidly, as she noticed Jane's coat in her lap. He'd obviously covered her with it. This was…surreal. She'd fallen asleep in Jane's arms. How did that happen? She tried to remember, but all that came back to her was the file she'd been reading before she'd fallen asleep. She felt her face reddening.

Jane spoke, but his eyes remained shut. "Now don't be embarrassed, Lisbon." Her head whipped in his direction, as he continued. "This was totally innocent. No need to over analyze it," he said with a playful smirk.

The embarrassment she'd felt immediately dissipated and was replaced with the agitation from the knowledge that Jane knew her well enough to know she'd be overthinking this. "Oh, hush."

"Hush," Jane repeated quietly, "always she tells me to hush."

She looked around the bullpen again, feeling like she should be doing something, but she couldn't remember what. "What time is it?"

"Early," Jane told her. He turned into the couch a little, his knees turning towards Lisbon as he did. "If you hadn't jerked," he continued trying to sound irritated but failing miserably, "we'd still be fast asleep right now."

She looked at him incredulously. "Jane, seriously, what time is it?"

"My phone is in my coat pocket," he told her through a stifled yawn.

She lifted his coat and riffled through his pockets until she found his phone. She flipped it open and read: 5:27am.

"See, still early," Jane said. Lisbon looked back at him just as he closed his eyes again. "Let's go back to sleep."

She felt suddenly conflicted. She knew they couldn't go back to sleep. She had to get back home, shower and get ready for the day. She knew it would look bad if both her and Jane were wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday, even if it was totally innocent. But admittedly, the idea of laying her head back down next to Jane on the couch sounded strangely appealing. Her eyes stayed on Jane's face as she thought through her options. His hair was messy and a few curls lay on his forehead.

"I know you want to," Jane said, aggravating her once again.

_How does he do that?_ Still, she felt her body relax just a little, the tenseness of her waking so abruptly was fading quickly.

Jane patted the cushion next to his head, inviting her to lay back.

"Ah screw it," she yielded while leaning back against the couch and closing her eyes.

"That's the spirit," Jane encouraged wickedly.

She pulled Jane's jacket back over her shoulders and closed her eyes.

"Isn't that nice?" Jane's voice cooed.

"Hmm," was all she could muster. She could feel sleep coming to claim her once again, when she suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She sat up abruptly. "Jane!"

"Lisbon," Jane whined. "Again?"

"We're supposed to see Bertram today at 8:00 am on the dot," she said, panic filling her voice. This was the first time since the death of Wainwright that they'd been asked to go see him.

"That's two… and a half… hours from now," Jane said slowly.

Lisbon jumped off the couch. "What?" she panicked. "We've got to go!"

"I said two and a half hours, not two and a half minutes," Jane huffed as Lisbon tossed his jacket on him and ran to her office. "Lisbon… Lisbon," he called after her, while pulling his coat off his face.

She ignored him and went to her desk grabbing the papers she needed for their meeting. Then she came quickly back out to the bullpen. Jane was now stretched out across the entirety of the couch with his head on the armrest and his arms crossed over his chest. Her pace slowed as she approached the couch. "Jane, let's go."

"Mm mmm," Jane shook his head a little.

"I need a shower, I need to change, you need a shower and need to change. This takes time, especially since I know you don't want to see Bertram and won't go if I don't make you." She let her words sink in.

"True that," Jane admitted making no effort to move.

"You're coming with me," she said authoritatively. She watched as Jane peeked up at her with just one eye, the other still firmly shut.

He closed it again and huffed. "Alright, fine."

He took his time getting off the couch and putting his jacket on which made Lisbon want to strangle him. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction though and kept her face as apathetic as possible. It wasn't easy as he had a self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face making it all the more difficult, but she managed anyway.

* * *

At 8:00 am on the dot, Jane and Lisbon sat, showered and changed, quietly in Bertram's office as he looked over what they'd been working on. After several minutes, Bertram looked up and addressed Lisbon. "How have you been holding up?"

His tone was patronizing, and Jane knew Lisbon hated it. He was trying to make her feel like a victim, and one thing Lisbon would never be is a victim. No matter what horrible things had happened to her in her life, or what horrible things might happen to her in her future, she would never want anyone to think of her as a victim. He knew she'd be boiling on the inside but her response was calm, cool, and collected.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern," she responded, and Jane couldn't help but note the condescension in her voice. Jane unsuccessfully fought back a smile which he eventually gave up trying to stop and covered by bringing a finger up to his mouth and tapped his lips with it. Lisbon had made him promise on the way to Bertram's office that he wouldn't wind Bertram up. It wasn't an easy promise to make.

Bertram continued looking at the papers Lisbon had brought in. "It appears your team is being very thorough on this, but I don't see that you have any leads…"

Lisbon sat up a little straighter in her chair. "No, Sir. We don't have any leads. Red John is very thorough too and…"

He cut Lisbon off midsentence. "I understand that he is an admirable foe, but we're the professionals here. I think all of this nonsense has gone on long enough."

Jane could feel his brow furrow as Bertram began speaking. "Do you?" Jane asked angrily, while sliding forward in his seat. Bertram looked at him and Jane was about to continue when he suddenly felt Lisbon's hand on his arm. He looked over at her and she warned him off, then removed her hand. He shrugged while tilting his head side to side, in annoyance, but didn't say anything else.

"I understand your concern, Sir, and I can assure you that everything that can be done, is being done," said Lisbon.

"Good," Bertram leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers in his lap. "Because another loss like the last one would be detrimental to the CBI. We can't afford to appear any weaker."

Jane swallowed. He couldn't believe the arrogance. If they lost another person, it'd be Lisbon, and Bertram was more concerned about how her death would make the CBI look weak, than that her life would be over. He held his peace out of respect for Lisbon wishes.

"I understand, Sir. Was there anything else you needed?" Lisbon asked.

Jane was glad that she was trying to get them out of there. She had been just as offended as he had been.

Bertram looked over them both. "Yes, actually there is. I received a call from Diplomat Alonzo Conti yesterday. He requested the attendance of you both at a dinner that's being held in his honor at 8 o'clock, on Friday night."

Jane noticed Lisbon slide forward in her chair.

"Sir, we can't go," Lisbon said incredulously.

"And why's that?" Bertram asked.

"His wife, Erica Flynn, is a fugitive of the law. She escaped from our custody. We're trying to arrest her. If we went it'd be a conflict of interest, and I think she's trying to manipulate us."

Bertram smiled and leaned forward in his chair. "I know all about it, and frankly I don't care what you think," he said in a singsong voice. "You're both going."

Jane had just about all he could stand. "If you're worried about the CBI looking foolish, there is nothing you could do to accomplish that more than by sending Lisbon and myself to mingle with a woman who escaped CBI custody." He maintained his cool, but could feel his irritation building.

"No, actually, I think it makes your team look foolish, not the CBI," Bertram responded.

"So what? This is some kind of punishment?" Lisbon jumped in. "He was signed over by Wainwright, the very man _you_ hired."

Bertram looked over at Lisbon. "Yes, and Wainwright's dead. Due again to you not being able to handle a case."

Lisbon looked over at Jane, then back at Bertram. Her face was hiding nothing and showed utter and total disgust for what Bertram had just said.

"Do you want to put blame on a dead man, Agent Lisbon?" Bertram asked. "Because I don't, and I'm certainly not taking the blame for _your_ mistakes."

Jane stood up and grabbed Lisbon's arm. "I think we're done here," Jane announced as Lisbon stood.

Her face was cold, she was too much in shock to say anything. Jane led her towards the door.

"Did I say you could leave?" Bertram asked as he stood up.

Jane rounded back toward the desk pointing his middle and index finger at Bertram as he spoke. "You know, I've never been particularly fond of you, and I have on more than one occasion wondered just how it is that you managed to get into a position like this, but it's all becoming clear."

He felt Lisbon's hand encircle his arm. "Jane, don't."

"Is it?" Bertram asked amusedly.

"You look good, because you no doubt, black mailed, coerced, and threatened your way into a good reputation," Jane took another step forward, "but you're nothing but a bully with a badge."

"Is that right?" Bertram asked.

"Yes, it is," Jane responded without skipping a beat. "You don't scare me, and I promise you that I won't forget this."

Bertram's hands went to his hips, pushing his jacket back on either side. "Is that a threat, Mr. Jane?"

"No," Lisbon interjected, now having fully regained her senses. She made eye contact with Jane and shook her head, then looked back at Bertram. "It wasn't. We'll be at the dinner, Sir."

This time Lisbon was pulling Jane toward the door.

"Agent Lisbon," Bertram called after her. She stopped and looked at him, relinquishing her hold on Jane's arm. "I know I may seem cold, but I sincerely don't want you to get hurt. This is, I'm afraid, all part of the job."

Jane looked at the carpet as Lisbon nodded at Bertram's statement.

Bertram continued, "I'm aware of the deadline Red John has placed… I believe that this is the safest place you could be given the circumstances, it will be highly secured and you're welcome to take your team if it'd make you feel safer."

Jane looked back up at Bertram regarding him thoughtfully.

Lisbon's eyes narrowed. "Thank you, Sir. That won't be necessary."

Bertram kept a straight face, sat back down in his chair and began busying himself with paperwork. "Suit yourself, Agent. You can go."

"Jane," Lisbon said as she walked towards the door. Jane didn't move from his spot. His right hand went in his pocket and he held his left hand at waist level as he continued to examine Bertram.

Bertram looked up and into Jane's waiting eyes. "Was there something else, Mr. Jane?"

Jane didn't answer just held his gaze.

"Jane, come on," Lisbon said from the door.

Jane shook his head, turned and walked out, with Lisbon right at his tail.

Once they were clear of the office and the building Lisbon spoke. "Jane, what were you thinking? You can't just make threats when you're not happy about something."

"He needs to know that not everyone is afraid of him, like you are!" He shoved his hands in his pockets.

Lisbon stopped walking. "Excuse me?"

Jane stopped walking and turned back towards her. "Come on Lisbon. You barely fought back in there. He wants you and the team to take the fall for Erica…"

Lisbon put up her hand. "Stop, Jane. Just stop. I'm sorry if you don't approve of the way I handled it but we can't all of us threaten the Director of the CBI and get away with it like you can." She pointed a finger at him and continued. "You think I don't dislike him just as much as you do? Well I do. He's a horse's rear end."

"You don't act like it," Jane spat.

"This is my job and Bertram can take it from me. Whether we like it or not sometimes we take the fall." She placed her hands on her hips.

Jane looked at her intently, fear suddenly filling him. "You're not going to take the team are you?" Jane asked.

She swallowed hard, then looked away from his gaze. "No."

"That's just foolish!" He stepped toward her.

"Bertram was right about Erica. Wainwright might have signed her over, but she was under our care, and we lost her. It is our fault." She pointed at the ground. "_Our_ fault. You and me, and _we_ will live with the consequences. I'm not dragging the team into it."

"Lisbon…" Jane's voice quieted. "It wasn't your fault." He knew he'd gone too far and was trying to console her.

"We've got to get back to the office." She shook her head and walked away from him.

* * *

The day went quickly and Lisbon was relieved that not only did Jane keep out of trouble the rest of the day he also didn't bring up their earlier fight. Normally she would've still been mad at him, but she couldn't. It seemed so silly to her to hold any kind of grudge when her time was literally running out. They'd been more than amiable the rest of the day and around six at night she'd left for home.

She was so tired and all she really wanted to do was sleep, but she knew that was seriously unlikely until after this was all over. She was too hyped up. Still she'd gone home and changed into her most comfortable pair of sweats and her Cubs night shirt, and had pulled on thick socks over the bottoms of her sweats. She grabbed a book, The Hound of the Baskervilles, although she'd never openly admit that to Jane, and wrapped up in a blanket with her gun placed on the coffee table in front of her.

It was nearing ten when someone knocked at her door. She startled out of her book and stood up cautiously, tossing the book on the coffee table and grabbing her gun as she made her way to her door.

"Who's there?" she asked when she reached the door.

"Uh, it's me," said the familiar voice of Jane.

"Jane?" She stood on her toes and peeked through her peep hole. "What are you doing here?" He was standing with his hands in his pant pockets, rolling back on his heels and looking around.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

Lisbon took a deep breath.

"Are you gonna let me in?" He asked raising his brows.

She took a step back from her door and opened it. "Jane," she said waving him in with the hand holding her gun.

Jane looked her over as she shut the door. "Well, don't you look… armed," he stuttered, "warm." He quickly looked away from her and around her apartment.

She smirked, then realized why he'd probably come and felt suddenly very tired again. "If you came to apologize, you don't need to. I'm not mad at you."

He looked back at her. "I know you're not, but I am sorry. I was out of line."

"Jane," Lisbon whined walking back toward her living room. "I told you not to apologize!" She told him forcefully. "I'm tired, and totally drained. I really can't take any more emotion right now."

She sat her gun down on her coffee table again and turned back to Jane.

"I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, kicking the carpet lightly with one of his feet. He looked sad, and a little pathetic if she was being completely honest.

"Geese, Jane." She shook her head, remorsefully. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't easy for you either. I know you're tired too. Look, I think it'd be a good idea if you went home and got some rest."

He looked up at her as she spoke and took a tentative step into her living room. "That's just the thing. I can't sleep. The truth is…" he took a deep breath, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and wake up and you'll be gone."

"Jane, I'm gonna be fine. Besides you said it yourself, Red John isn't gonna try anything until Friday." She hated when he was like this. She wanted to help him, but didn't know what to do.

"You're sure about that?" His voice was a little stronger. "Because you just answered your door with a gun."

Lisbon looked down uncomfortably.

Jane took a step forward again. "I was actually wondering if I could sleep on your couch tonight," Jane finally confessed his reason for coming. "It occurred to me after you left that you haven't been left alone since last week. You've been staying at the office and always one of us has stayed with you. Not tonight though."

Lisbon tilted her head to the side. "If Red John came for me tonight, do you really think you could stop him?" she asked, and immediately regretted it when Jane's face dropped and turned sheet white. It was like he'd just seen a ghost.

He looked away from her. "I don't know what I'd do," he said after he pulled himself together. "Maybe I'd die. Maybe I'd kill him. I don't know, but I do know that I'd sleep better if I was under the same roof as you."

Lisbon smiled lightly, and nodded. "Okay... You can stay as long as you want."

Jane's smile returned, and she felt a chill run up her spine as he made eye contact. His entire countenance seemed to change, as if whatever it was she'd said had made his life.

She could feel herself blush and she quickly walked past him. "Make yourself at home. I'm going to go get you a blanket and pillow."

She looked down at him as she made her way up the stairs and to the closet in her hallway. He was making his way around to the couch. She smiled before turning away. She reached her closet, opened it and pulled out a pillow and a blanket, then turned back toward the stairs. Before she made it to the stairs she heard Jane yell up to her sounding thrilled. "Lisbon, you're reading Sherlock Holmes!"

She rolled her eyes, and prepared herself for the harassment she was about to receive before making her way back downstairs and to Jane.

**Next chapter will be a doozy. Hope you liked this one and would love it if you told me what you thought. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Red Everywhere

**Hey everyone. Sorry this took so long. I just started school again and this chapter was a little difficult to write. The end of the chapter is probably M, just to warn you. **

Chapter 14 Red Everywhere

Lisbon stepped off the elevator and peeked around the corner, then stood tall and took a deep relaxing breath. She had many reasons to feel nervous today, but at the moment it was the dress she was wearing for Diplomat Conti's mandatory dinner. It was a black lace cocktail dress with capped sleeves, a boat neck, and a slit that exposed her thigh when she walked or sat crossed legged. She topped the outfit off with round toed, three inch black high heels. Her dress was nice and even she had to admit that she looked killer in it, but she would have much preferred jeans and a t-shirt today with the possibility of having a serial killer come after her.

She straightened her dress, pushed her curled hair behind her shoulders, stuck her black clutch under her arm and started walking. She'd spent the car ride from her apartment to the bullpen composing herself. She didn't want her team to see her nervous or afraid. She wanted to appear self-possessed—fierce if necessary, but not afraid. They'd been on eggshells all day, and it had taken a large amount of convincing for them to allow her to go home alone to change.

She knew Jane would never have allowed it, but he'd gone to his hotel to change first. He'd told the team to stick with her, but they were more afraid of her than Jane. She took a deep breath as she passed her office and walked into the bullpen. Van Pelt and Rigsby looked up and gasped lightly. Then Cho turned in his desk when he saw where Van Pelt was looking and smiled when Lisbon came into view. Jane was sitting quietly on his couch, with his hands interlaced in his lap, his legs crossed, his foot bouncing slightly and he was looking straight ahead. He didn't turn to look at her as she came in. His face and demeanor was relaxed, but she knew he wouldn't be happy with her for leaving alone. She stopped by Cho's desk, suddenly fearing Jane's wrath.

"You look nice, Boss," said Cho.

"Thank you." She was about to call out to Jane when Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho all stood up and faced her and more or less surrounded her. "What?" she said without thinking.

Rigsby looked over at Van Pelt then Cho, then returned his gaze to Lisbon. "We're going with you."

Lisbon looked over her shoulder at him. "No you're not," Lisbon said firmly.

"With all due respect, we are." Cho added firmly.

Lisbon looked at Jane. He was still passively sitting on his couch, staring straight ahead towards the kitchen. Despite acting apathetic she was sure that he was somehow behind this mutiny.

"We've been over this. If you're associated with Erica and her escape, it'll leave permanent marks on all of you." Lisbon looked each of them in the eye. "I won't allow it."

"Do you really think we care more about that than we do your life?" Van Pelt said. "You can say whatever we want we're coming," she added stubbornly.

"Jane," Lisbon pulled her eyes from Grace. "What did you say to them?"

Jane finally turned his gaze to her. His eyes were serious, not angry like she'd imagined, but definitely not happy. She swallowed nervously.

Rigsby moved around his desk and towards Lisbon a step. "He didn't say anything to us. We made this decision on our own."

Lisbon looked at Rigsby incredulously. "Yeah right."

"No, really," Cho crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We've all been through a lot together. We've stood up for each other, we fought murders, we've been shot at, nearly killed even, but we've stood together. If Red John is coming for you, he'll have to go through us."

"You let us worry about our careers," Rigsby said as he placed his hands on his hips, "Tonight we have your back, Boss."

Lisbon felt gratitude and relief filling her. She hadn't realized how much she actually wanted them near. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but held them back. She reminded herself that she wanted to be strong, wanted them to see her fierce and unafraid. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before speaking. "Alright," she said quietly.

Jane grabbed something from the couch and then stood up. It took her a second before she recognized what it was: a plastic container with a deep purple orchid corsage in it. He walked to Van Pelt and handed it to her, then stuck his hands in his pockets before looking at Lisbon.

"We put a tracking device in this," Van Pelt said, walking towards Lisbon while opening the container. "Just as a precaution."

Van Pelt took it out of the case and handed it to Lisbon.

"Thanks," Lisbon said. She couldn't help but think it was a silly idea, but took it gratefully anyway and slipped it on her left wrist.

"We've already talked to the security at the consulate," Rigsby informed her.

Lisbon turned towards Rigsby eyeing him suspiciously. "You didn't tell them…"

"No, we just offered our services for the night. They have no idea why were really there," Rigsby told her.

"Alright." Lisbon shrugged her shoulders. There was no point in trying to talk them out of this. She could see that they had their minds made up. "Let's go then."

She raised an eyebrow at Jane, who was still unusually quiet, and tried to quell the unease it was causing her. He smiled lightly. She couldn't help but note that it didn't reach his eyes. He walked over and offered her his arm. She reached up to take it, then stopped abruptly, then inched her hand forward slowly again, before finally taking it, like a reaching out to pet an unfamiliar dog.

"Let's go," Jane said quietly.

"We're going to follow you and Jane," Cho said. "Once you get there, you won't be able to see us."

Lisbon nodded, then she and Jane left the bullpen as Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby gathered the things they needed. When they reached the elevator she released his arm, pushed the down button and shoved a lose strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced uncomfortably at Jane, who was staring intently at the elevator doors.

She decided that the silence would be the death of her, if nothing else, and finally spoke. "Jane…"

He cut her off. "You look lovely."

She could feel her cheeks reddening and the lump in her throat returning. She wasn't sure why his remark had had this effect on her, but she quickly looked away, afraid that she might get teary.

"Thank you." She took a deep breath and pulled herself together. Jane was not excluded from the list of people she didn't want thinking she was afraid. She wanted to say something to him, but didn't know what. Unexpectedly, she felt his fingers on her hand. She looked down as he interlaced their fingers, then grasped her hand tightly, making no other move to look at her, stand closer, or to let go. She glanced up at him, as he continued gazing intently at the elevator and felt a surge of power go through her.

She suddenly no longer felt afraid or nervous. She felt exactly how she had wanted to feel. She felt fierce, unshakable, and… stubborn. If Red John wanted her, he'd be in for the fight of a life time.

She suddenly grasped what this was really all about. Jane. Not her. It was always about Jane. Red John wanted to scare him, hurt him, and show him that he could tear his life to pieces at the seams anytime he wanted. And as far as she was concerned, he couldn't. Red John had played with Jane long enough. She knew that Red John probably knew a lot about the team and Jane, but one thing was for certain: he'd underestimated her, and she'd show him that tonight.

The elevator doors opened, Jane released her hand and they walked into to it. Lisbon barely noticed Jane glance down at her legs as the doors shut. A cocky grin began to cross his face.

Lisbon could feel herself blushing. "What?" she snapped.

"You have _great_ legs," Jane said through a mischievous smirk as he rolled back on his heels. "I'm surprised you don't take them out more often."

She reached over and smacked his arm. "Jane!"

He chuckled.

* * *

Jane led Lisbon into the main hall of the consulate and past the photographers, and news cameras. They gave their names at security by the door and were allowed admittance. Jane took one last glance as the young valet driving his car turned the corner in his Citroen, and wrinkled his nose.

It was until he felt the sudden loss of Lisbon's elbow in his hand and that he turned back to her. She was only a few steps ahead of him, but he didn't like it. He caught up with her took her arm again linking it through his own. She didn't look at him, or flinch, just accepted his movement. She walked slowly, with her head held high and her shoulders back. She looked strong and at ease. Jane could feel pride swelling in him for her. As they approached the banquet room Jane stopped walking and turned to Lisbon. She stopped as well, but kept her arm linked in his and looked at him curiously.

"Don't go far tonight," he finally told her.

She smiled kindly. "I won't. It's going to be okay, Jane." She leaned a little closer to him. "If Red John thinks his little plan is going to go off without a hitch he's got another thing coming."

Jane smiled weakly. "Still…"

"Within arm's reach, I promise," she told him as she extended her hand and straightened his bow-tie.

They turned back to the room and walked slowly through the entrance. Jane couldn't help but smile as Lisbon let out a little gasp at the scene before them. There were flowers everywhere. Large arrangements of burgundy, pink and white roses, lily's, orchids, and delphinium were set up on stands throughout the room. Slightly smaller arrangements of the same flowers were set up on the round tables covered in burgundy table clothes, they filled a large portion of the room minus the dance floor.

The flowers were very fragrant and the smell wafted up to their noses. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and was reflecting small rainbows throughout the room, and soft music was being played by a small orchestra situated at the bottom of the stairs. Waiters in tuxes with long tails, were circling the room with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres

Jane could see Lisbon shrink back a little at the sight of the men and women in the room. They were obviously in the midst of the very wealthy and they were all dressed to the nines in tuxes and cocktail dresses. He looked over at her as she reached up and grabbed her cross, then took a deep breath, recalling the confidence she'd had a moment before, before dropping her cross. Jane smiled weakly. Red John threatens her life, her hand never goes to her cross, she's faced with a room of Bureaucrats and their lovely wives and she felt a sudden need for religious comfort.

"Alright, let's get this embarrassment over with," she said as they began their decent into the social lion's den.

* * *

Jane sat at one of the ornate tables with Lisbon to his right, Erica and Alonzo across from him and eight other people he didn't bother to remember the names of. Erica was wearing a violet cocktail dress with black gloves that she had buttoned at her wrist and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun.

Everyone had been steering clear of his and Lisbon's profession. It was obvious that they all knew that Erica had been involved in some sort of crime, but as she was married to Conti, the subject was taboo. They were all too worried that if they asked Jane and Lisbon about what they did, that Erica might come up, so they steered clear. Plus Jane could see that Erica had them all wrapped around her little finger. Well everyone except Lisbon and himself, and he couldn't help but notice that several men, including a few at his table had noticed Lisbon tonight. She was looking particularly stunning and couldn't blame them.

Conti was presented his glass award during dinner, then after the plates were cleared they spent a chunk of time listening to Erica brag about his achievements. Jane had finally managed to change the topic to something more favorable and was now reading people at the table. When he'd started, he could feel Lisbon tensing beside him, but he'd quickly squeezed her knee under the table which seemed to make her relax a little. Within moments he had won the small crowd over and had them laughing.

Erica's eyes had been sparkling at him as he'd moved from one person to the next, and he noticed Lisbon noticeably relax as he worked his magic. Jane finished telling the woman to the left of him that she was best friends with her sister, that she was an avid reader, (leaving out the fact that her books of choice were something of a more scandalous nature,) and that her and her husband were overly found of French delicatessen's, which was why they were now on a strict diet. He'd made sure to take the woman's hand as he said this, had looked her in the eye, and told her that a diet wasn't necessary. That she was beautiful. The woman had blushed.

Her husband leaned toward her after Jane's remarks. "I know where we're stopping tonight," he announced causing the table to break into chuckles.

Jane pointed at the man with a playful grin. "That a boy!" he said enthusiastically. "A pastry every now again, never hurt anyone."

Jane noticed Conti reach over and take Erica's hand. She pulled her eyes away from Jane almost reluctantly, and gave Conti a little smile that Jane knew Conti couldn't resist. "That's incredible," Conti told Jane.

"No," Jane looked at the table, faking a bit of humility. "It's nothing."

Erica looked at Conti again. "Nonsense. He's just being humble. Isn't he Teresa?" She removed her hand from Conti's and looked towards Lisbon, as did everyone else at the table.

Jane swallowed. She hadn't been overly talkative. Not antisocial, just a little quieter than everyone else. Jane decided that they would simply think her more reserved.

She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he's something else," she said mockingly, receiving smiles from several of the men. "You should see him at our office parties." A few chuckles sounded out over her remark. Jane raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't think I've met someone who could read people as well as you before. It's fascinating." Jane pulled his gaze from Lisbon and placed it on Conti. "Are you sure you're not a psychic?" Conti asked.

Jane nodded. "There's no such thing as psychics," Jane told them quietly, sudden;y focusing on the burgundy table cloth in front of him.

Erica quickly jumped in again. "Patrick is a rather talented magician. I worked a show with him once."

Jane's skin crawled at her reference. It was the same night she'd escaped. He kept his face cool. Curious about what she was up to. He thought it risky on her part to bring this topic up. Then again she was a master of steering a conversation in any direction she wanted.

"Really?" Another woman at the table exclaimed. "Well show us something."

"Oh no, I'd better not." Jane rubbed his legs under the table.

"Come on Jane," Lisbon said catching his attention. He quickly looked over at her. She was grinning at him. "It's been awhile since I've seen you do a good trick."

"I'm not prepared," Jane admitted. He hadn't expected Lisbon to turn against him, and even though he'd been playing it cool all night, he really didn't feel like doing a magic trick. He was having hard enough time keeping his mind on the party.

"Actually, Patrick," Erica said. "I brought a deck of cards. I was hoping we'd be able to convince you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a deck of cards.

Jane wanted to sink in his chair. He looked around at the expectant faces of everyone at the table and ended on Lisbon. She definitely wanted him to do it. She even, if possible, looked a little excited about the prospect.

His stomach flipped as he looked back towards Erica. "Okay. Well, I guess I can show you a little something. Can we move these flowers off the table?" Jane said to a passing waiter, pointing to the small bouquet.

The waiter gave him a curious look, but quickly removed the flowers after receiving a nod from Conti.

Jane slid forward in his chair a little once the table was cleared. "Erica, do you by chance have a pen in your purse?"

She frowned then looked through her purse. After a second she pulled out a pen. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "Now what?" She flicked the pen back and forth in her hand.

"Pick a card from the deck and show it to everyone at the table." He tapped his left hand on the table, and sat his right hand on his right thigh.

Erica pulled out the five of clubs and showed it to everyone.

"Now, I want you to write your name over the face of the card. Write it big so we can all easily see it," he instructed her. She did as she was told, then showed the card to the table again. "Now place your card on the top of the deck and pass them over to me."

She sat the card down, then passed the stack and her card around the table to Jane.

He lifted the card and showed it to all of them. "Are you all watching closely," Jane asked. Several of them nodded, then Jane took the card and slid it to the center of the deck and sat the deck down in front of himself. He looked everyone over carefully and waited for the tension to properly build, then he tapped the top of the deck with his left hand pointer finger.

He leaned over to the lady to the left of him. "Would you lift the top card please, and show it to everyone?"

She smiled and complied. She gasped as the five of clubs with Erica's signature was revealed. There were a few murmurs. "How'd you do that?"

"I can pull this card out of the deck every time," Jane boasted.

"Okay," the pastry man took the bait, "shuffle the deck then show us," he dared.

Jane looked over at him and kept his eyes on him as he began to shuffle the deck. Once finished he sat it down and tapped the top, then picked it up and revealed Erica's card. Then before anyone could say anything he grabbed the deck and again, shuffled it, pushed all the cards into his left hand and split the deck in half using just his left hand, moving the bottom half forward which revealed Erica's card, without even having looked at it. A couple of the women started laughing. He then arched the cards away from his hand and let them shoot out of his left hand and into his right, shuffled them again, and placed the cards down in front of himself. He slid the top card back a half an inch with his left index finger, then flicked the card forward, and onto the table, once again revealing Erica's card. All of the women, excepting Lisbon, were laughing now, and even some of them men.

"It just a slip of the hand." One of them men at the table and to the right of Lisbon said.

Jane smiled broadly as he tore his gaze away from the first man who'd tested him and placed them on the second. He liked being challenged. "Are you sure?"

The guy flinched a little, then sat up straight. "What else could it have been?"

"Okay. Teresa, would you please pass the deck over to our skeptical friend?" Jane asked.

Jane knew Lisbon was fighting the urge to shake her head at him, even though she was smiling, but did as she was asked anyway. Once the man had the cards Jane instructed him to shuffle them, then once he was satisfied to pass them back. The man did as he was told, even over shuffling the cards, then passed them back. Jane placed the cards in front of himself again, and once again, tapped the top with his left hand. Only this time the deck spun and the top card flew off the table between himself and Lisbon.

"Whoops," Jane said, causing more laughter.

Both he and Lisbon bent over to grab it at the same time.

"I got it," Lisbon told him.

Jane reached down at the same time she did. "I can get it Teresa."

"Was it Erica's card?" The woman sitting on the other side of Erica asked.

Lisbon touched the floor lightly with the tips of her fingers, then looked up at Jane. "It's gone," she said quietly. Jane could hear a smile on her voice. He lifted his head and they made eye contact. She quirked her eyebrow up which he understood was her way of asking where the card had gone. He smiled lightly, then became suddenly aware of how close they actually were. His stomach jumped, but he couldn't move away.

She blinked lightly at him, then her smile dropped a little. He could feel himself leaning forward. His eyes found her lips and all sounds around him suddenly became a jumble of noises. He remembered how soft her lips had felt on his cheek. His eyes jumped back to her eyes as he seemed to be getting closer to her, or she was getting closer to him. He wasn't sure.

Her light green eyes were glimmering with amusement, and she smelled heavenly. Even though she scoffed at the idea of wearing perfume, he knew she was wearing it today. Givenchy, if he wasn't mistaken, Very Irresistible… and it was. He closed his eyes briefly, breathing in deeply, and then opened them again. Then he heard her voice loud and clear in a strange juxtaposition with her lips moving in slow motion.

"Not here…" she said.

He blinked again. All sounds, movements… coming back.

"What was that dear?" One of the women asked. Jane still couldn't be sure who.

Lisbon kept eye contact with Jane. "The cards not here," she said again.

The mention of the cards suddenly brought Jane back to reality. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and Lisbon and knew how it must look. What they were seeing. He didn't care.

He kept his eyes on Lisbon and quickly pointed across the table at Erica. "Erica," he was glad his voice sounded loud and clear, and not quiet and lost like he thought it might. "Look in your husband's jacket pocket." He had to drag his eyes away from Lisbon and swallowed. "The one closest to you."

He saw the brief moment where Erica's face disguised her hurt, then she smiled and reached into her husband's pocket. Conti lifted his arm's to give her better access.

"What am I looking for?" she asked. "Oh." Her hand came out of his pocket holding a card. Her face as well as Conti's lit up before she turned the card around showing her name written across the five of clubs. "Patrick!" she cried enthusiastically.

"How did you do that?" Conti asked with a pleased smile, as he placed an arm around Erica's back.

Jane smiled in return and shrugged. He moved his hands to his thighs, and rubbed off the sweat that had somehow accumulated on them. He felt a small familiar hand on his right arm and looked over at Teresa.

"This is a lovely song," Lisbon's voice sounded happy, too happy. She was faking. "Dance with me Jane?"

He nodded weakly.

"Yes, this is a nice song," Erica said looking at Alonzo, as Jane and Lisbon made their way to the dance floor. Jane saw them stand and follow them to where all the couples were dancing, but kept his eyes on Lisbon as he'd pulled her close and began to dance.

"Jane," there was the true tone, the one she'd been disguising at the table. The worried one. "What was that?" she nearly whispered into his ear as they circled slowly.

The hair on the back of his neck rose. "Teresa, I…" he fumbled for words. What was it? He'd almost kissed her of that he was sure of. "What was what?" he asked. He knew it was cowardly, but he didn't know what to say.

She huffed irritably. "What do you call it?" It was almost as if she were asking herself.

"What do you call what?" he asked now truly curious if they were on the same page.

"You pretended to almost kiss me?"

"Pretended?" He asked alarmed by her assumption. He wasn't sure what it meant yet, but he certainly hadn't been faking it. If he was being completely honest he hadn't been thinking about much other than the way her perfume had smelled.

He pulled away a little more and looked down at her, his brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"You have a term for it," her face gave away the fact that she was searching for whatever term she was looking for, and Jane could feel himself becoming more and more confused. Then her face lit up. "What do you call assistants, the pretty girls in magic shows? The distractors or something like that?"

It suddenly occurred to Jane what she was getting at. "Reliable distractors of attention?"

"Yes," she sounded relieved, but looked agitated.

His gut wrenched. "Teresa you don't think I..."

She pulled him closer and whispered into his ear again. "Jane, it's 9:28. I think… I think I'm Red John's reliable distractor of attention."

"What?" Jane tried to push her back again so he could see her, but she was gripping his shoulder tightly.

"If Red John was going to do something to me, he would have done it by now. Lured me out somehow. I think he's using me to get to someone else."

Jane shook his head. "No. I don't think so. There's no one else he could go after that would hurt me as much as if he hurt you."

He heard her small intake of breath at his confession, before she pulled herself together and spoke. "That may be true, but I'm not the only person you care about." She pulled away enough to look up at him.

The song ended and a new one started. They stayed in each other's arms. Still swaying to the music that had just ended and continued as another song started. Jane felt sure the idea was ludicrous, Red John wanted to hit him where it counted, wanted to bring him to his knees again. He was a hundred percent sure of this, but at the same time there was some sense in what Lisbon was saying. His mind whirled as he tried to work it out.

Jane unexpectedly felt a hand tap his shoulder. Lisbon's face dropped then she quickly smiled as Jane turned to see Erica and Alonzo standing behind him. Jane kept his hand on Lisbon's back as she clasped her hands in front of her.

"May I dance with your lovely date?" Alonzo asked.

"Oh, I'm not his date." Lisbon said with a hint of shock in her tone. "We just came together. We're work colleagues."

Jane smirked at how uncomfortable her response had been. It was cute.

Alonzo's brow went up questioningly as he looked at Jane.

"Well, you'll have to ask her?" Jane said.

"Ms. Lisbon?" Conti looked at Lisbon.

"I'd love to," she responded in her typical cool manner. Jane knew she'd been secretly dying to get him alone. To explain to him the danger he was in. He wished her luck. She was definitely going to need it. Erica had the man head over heels, desperately in love. He was totally blind to her faults.

Erica walked to Jane's side as Conti offered Lisbon his arm and led her away.

"She's a beautiful woman," Erica said and Jane couldn't help note a little bit of venom behind her cool presentation.

Jane took a deep breath. "You obviously arranged this, so don't beat about the bush. What do you want?"

"To talk to you," she turned to him. "Please. I just want five minutes. We can talk outside."

Jane looked down at his watch. It read 9:31. He looked over at Lisbon, and then at the porch that Erica was gesturing too. The doors were closed and blinds shut, but it wasn't far and if he left the door open, he'd still be able to see the dance floor from there. He nodded reluctantly and followed her outside.

Erica walked out and behind the door, she reached to shut it, but Jane grabbed her hand and stopped her. She pulled it away as if he'd shocked her.

"Alright, we can leave it open." She looked inside following Jane's eyes to Lisbon. "Have you figured out why I've come here?" She was holding her cell phone in her hand, and quickly glanced down at it.

"To rub your outlaw status in our faces." Jane said knowingly glancing briefly back at her before returning his gaze to Lisbon.

Erica's face dropped. "I deserve that. I'll admit it, but it's not true, really."

This caught Jane's attention. He looked back at her in pure disbelief. "Then why are you here?"

"I don't expect you to believe me, but I came here for you. To protect you."

"Excuse me?" Jane scoffed glancing back at Lisbon.

"Patrick. Would you look at me, please?" She reached up to his chin and pulled his attention back to her. Then quickly removed her hand. "I care very deeply for you. Why won't you believe me?"

"Because I know how you work." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I've seen you use your tactics on many men, lest you have forgotten, and I've watched you working them on your poor husband all night long." He glanced back out at Lisbon.

"What would I have to do to prove myself?"

Jane looked back at Erica. "There's nothing you could do."

"Not even come back to the U.S., despite the warrant out for my arrest?"

Jane's brow scrunched.

Erica continued, "About a month ago I started receiving threats. I was told that I had to come back to the states with Alonzo or you would be killed."

Jane's brow raised in shock. He hadn't expected that. "And you believed it?"

"Not at first, then I received this, amongst other threats." She pulled a piece of paper out of her black glove, unfolded it and handed it to Jane. He looked down at it for a moment, not sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. It was a picture of him from a distance, he was sitting at a café, drinking a cup of tea.

"Where did you get this?" His voice sounded harsh even to him and he advanced on her causing her to take a step back.

"This was sent to me right before I came here. That was why I changed my mind last minute." Her phone vibrated and she took a deep breath.

Jane was now pointing a finger at her. Her eyes were watering. "Who sent this too you?"

"Red John," her voice quaked.

Jane felt suddenly very nauseous.

She reached toward him grabbing his hand. "He threatened to kill you and me if I didn't do exactly what he asked."

"What did he ask?" his voice was soft and when she didn't respond right away he thought she hadn't heard him.

"I'm sorry," she said finally before stepping away from him again. "I don't want to die, and it turns out that I am capable of loving. I did what I had to do to protect you." She was shaking near uncontrollably now.

"What did you do?" Jane's voice quieted, but was still harsh.

Erica looked towards the banquet. It was fleeting, and he might have missed it if he hadn't been staring at her so intently. His stomach dropped as his head whipped back to the dance floor. Lisbon wasn't there. He looked toward their table. She wasn't there either. He dropped the picture he'd taken from Erica and ran back into the room.

"Lisbon!" The room began to quiet as he ran toward Conti and the orchestra slowly stopped playing. "Lisbon!" He looked around the room frantically then focused on Conti and pointed at him. "Where is she?" Jane bellowed.

Conti face dropped. "She went to the ladies room," he said concern filling his tone. He stood up. "What's this about Mr. Jane?"

"Did she do anything before she left?" Jane leaned across the table toward Conti.

"No."

"Think hard," Jane looked him in the eye.

Conti's eyes rolled to his right, trying to remember. "I think she got a text message."

Jane felt a shock go up his spine as he rapidly turned and ran for the door. He grabbed his phone and could hear the room break out into chatter as he exited at a full run. He was about to call the team when he received a text. It was from Lisbon's phone. He slowed to a stop and read the message: Lisbon's house. Come alone. If you don't, I'll know.

His heart starting beating rapidly and his breathing grew heavy. Cho appeared at the exit. Jane knew they'd seen his flight out of the banquet on a security feed. Jane looked up and ran toward him—phone still in his hand. "Cho!"

Cho walked quickly to Jane. "What happened?"

"She's gone," he said shoving the phone into his pocket last second.

Cho's face dropped, he looked back toward the banquet then reached up to his ear. "We have a problem, get up here." Cho pointed at one of the security guards behind the desk at the front door. "You, seal off all the exits. Now!"

* * *

Jane sat quietly, tapping his foot as they checked the tracker that they'd placed in her flower, and discovered it wasn't on.

Jane waited impatiently as they went through the security footage. They watched as Lisbon walked out the back door of the banquet hall. From there the footage was useless. There was no sign of her in the hall that she would have had to walk down, no footage at the door she would have had to exit and no footage at the back of the building where she would have had to leave from.

Jane paced as they locked down the building and searched it. Then fifteen minutes after she'd disappeared, he lost it. He needed to leave. He was desperate to leave, but he'd been forced to stay, so as not to draw attention.

"I'm going," he said walking toward the front door.

"Jane, wait," Van Pelt said stepping in front of him. "You can't leave."

"Why not?" Jane snapped.

Van Pelt looked down, eyes watering. "You might be able to see something we can't." Her voice trembled and Jane felt guilty, but he hid it. Pushed it deep down inside him with all the other guilt, buried where no one could ever see it… except Lisbon. His stomach lurched.

"No, there's nothing here," his voice was cold.

Rigsby stepped forward. "Jane. We're going to find her."

"Look at this?" Cho said looking at the monitor. Rigsby and Van Pelt walked over to Cho. "At 9:15 a black S.U.V. pulled up in back. At 9:40 it was gone. No footage of it leaving," Cho continued.

"Are the plates visible?" Rigsby asked.

Van Pelt moved in and did something with the footage. "Yes, here. California plates…" she told them pointing at the screen.

Jane's mind drowned out Van Pelt's voice. He knew where Lisbon was. He backed away slowly and slipped out of the building.

* * *

Jane parked his car in front of Lisbon's apartment. He took several deep breathes before getting out. He walked slowly to the steps that led to her upstairs apartment, then took them two at a time. He moved warily in the direction of her door. He felt sick, horrified, anxious. He reached her door and took another deep breath before reaching out for the knob and swinging the door open. It was dark inside, but light from the street streamed in on the carpet right by the door, lighting up a deep red color that covered the floor. Jane gasped and jumped backwards startled before looking down. Red rose pedals covered the carpet. He took several more deep breaths, calming himself, then stepped cautiously through the door.

Several small candles lined the pedal covered path to the stairs and up to the second floor. Jane walked lightly over the pedals and peeked up the stairs. Then he leaned up against the far wall and walked slowly up the steps towards Lisbon's room. The only sound audible to his ears was the sound of his own breathing. He stumbled a little on the top step, but caught himself and continued over the pedals and past the candles. He reached the end of the hall and could see light flickering under the door. The room was obviously lit with candles as well.

There was no note.

He stepped forward with his right foot, stopped then took another step with his right foot first, shuffling up to the door. He reached out his hand to push the already slightly ajar door the rest the way open, but stopped abruptly as he felt a wave of nausea brush over him. He breathed deeply, then before he could think about what was behind it he quickly pushed into the room. There was red everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the bed. It was a sensory overload.

Jane could feel himself starting to hyperventilate as the all too familiar red smiley face came into focus directly over Lisbon's bed. He looked down at the bed unable to stop himself, then rapidly turned away. It was too late the image of what he saw there was ingrained in his brain. Blood soaked sheets, a naked female body—half covered by sheets, half exposed—lying on her stomach. Long bloody cuts covering her arms, legs, back, and everywhere else available, and a particularly large blood stain seeping out from under her mat of brown hair which covered her face. A deep purple orchid corsage adorned her left wrist.

"Lisbon," he'd spoken without thinking, then dropped to his knees on the rose pedals that covered the bedroom floor, trying to calm his exaggerated breathing, trying to recall the mental tricks he'd learned over the years, the ones he'd used over the years. Lisbon's face flashed in his mind, her green eyes and soft smile. The nausea was increasing exponentially. He felt it building in his stomach, felt the bile rising up his throat, saw the body, Lisbon's body, flash through his mind and threw up.

**I'm gonna try really hard to get the next chapter up in a timely fashion. Thanks for reading!**


	15. You're Welcome

**Hey all, I just wanted to thank you for the many wonderful reviews you sent me for my last chapter. I knew the chapter was gonna be intense, but didn't think it'd get that kind of response! So thank you. I hope you enjoy this one as well!**

* * *

Chapter 15 You're Welcome

Lisbon swayed slowly with Alonzo Conti. He was smiling brightly at her. She had been wanting to talk to him, to tell him that he needed to be careful and to get away from Erica, but now that she had the opportunity she was having a hard time formulating the words. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than Red John. But she was a professional and she couldn't let this stop her from doing her duty.

"Diplomat Conti…" she started.

"Please, call me Alonzo," Conti said pulling her a little closer to him.

She was sure he was in love with Erica, but she was also sure that he'd been a player before he'd married Erica. "O…kay, Alonzo then… I guess." She smiled uncomfortably. "Why did you invite Mr. Jane and me to your party?"

"Honestly it was Erica's idea," he told her. "She's very fond of you and Patrick."

It was all she could do to keep from scoffing at the remark. Alright, she'd concede that Erica was fond of Jane. All Lisbon had ever done was get in the way of her making passes at him. Lisbon looked toward the balcony where Jane and Erica had gone. Jane looked away from her just as she found him.

"Don't you find that a little strange, Alonzo, that she'd be fond of the people who would like to take her back to prison so she can finish serving the sentence she received for killing her last husband?" She returned her gaze to Conti.

Conti smiled at her and seemed somehow pleased by her remarks. His hand moved up her back a little.

Lisbon looked away from him. "You think that's funny?" she asked trying really hard to hide her annoyance.

"No, it's just that Erica warned me you'd bring this up." He looked down at her.

"Alonzo, I know you must be a smart man to have achieved what you have in your life." She looked away from his gaze and at the other people in the room. "What I don't understand is how you could be so undone by a convicted man slaughterer?" She knew she sounded a little harsher than she had meant to, but she was starting to realize that he wasn't going to listen.

His smile got bigger. "What I don't understand is how a woman as beautiful as you are could end up a police officer."

Lisbon clenched her jaw. She hated it when men spoke to her like this. What she really wanted to do was slam him to the floor to show just how a "woman as beautiful" as her could end up a police officer.

"Beauty, strangely, has nothing to do with a person's ability to become a police officer," she said coolly.

"That wasn't meant offensively," Conti told her pacifyingly.

The music slowly started coming to an end, and Lisbon knew that this was her last chance to warn him before she lost the opportunity all together. She quickly looked up at him and made eye contact. "I am sincerely concerned for your safety. I can't force you to be cautious, but please, Alonzo, be smart."

She watched his smile fade at her words and she swallowed.

"Thank you for the dance, Ms. Lisbon," he told her stepping away.

She nodded as he turned from her and headed to their table and then she followed.

The second she sat down she heard her phone vibrate in her purse. She grabbed her purse off the table, pulled her phone out and opened her text without bothering to see who it was from. There was a picture of Van Pelt walking the perimeter of the consulate with a rifle trained on her and a message that read: If you want your little friend to live, you'll go out the back exit now.

Lisbon glanced around nervously. Another message came in. She quickly opened it and read: You're running out of time and don't bother trying to alert your friends, or they'll die.

She started breathing heavily, but made a quick decision. She had to go. It was just like she'd told Jane, if Red John wants you dead… She swallowed and squared her shoulders deciding she wasn't ready to give in yet. Still Red John knew it wouldn't take much to get her to leave in the end. She'd feared as much, but had kept it to herself. She looked over at Jane making sure he couldn't see her leaving. He looked engrossed in a conversation with Erica. She ignored the fear rising up in her and made her move. She had to get out before Jane came back.

"Alonzo," she said tearing her gaze from Jane and placing it on Conti. "Would you tell Jane that I've gone to the ladies room when he comes back?"

Conti smiled. "Of course."

"Thank you." She kept her face relaxed as she walked toward the grand staircase, then quickly skirted them, walked over to the wall and followed it to the exit in the back. She glanced around making sure no one had seen her, then she opened the door and slipped into the hall.

The hall was well lit, but completely empty. Goosebumps rose on her arms and a chill ran up her spine. The stark contrast of the banquet room to the stark white, bare walls of the hall in which she now found herself was significant. She moved quickly, ever aware that Jane could be seconds behind her. She followed the hall to the back exit and took a deep breath before opening the door and going outside.

A dark S.U.V. was sitting in the alley with the back door open. She looked around, nervously, then made her way to the vehicle and peeked inside. She didn't need a message to know what it was that he wanted her to do. She looked around contemptuously. She'd vowed not to go easily, to fight, but with her team being threatened, that option seemed to be slowly slipping from her.

She harrumphed, then grabbed the handle above the door and pulled herself up and into the S.U.V., pulling the hem of her skirt down as she did and slammed the door behind her. The windows were all tinted black, she could see nothing out of them and there was a partition between her and the driver. She felt the car turn on and start to move.

It wouldn't be long before the team knew she was missing. She had to trust them to take care of themselves and each other now. She'd done for them all she could. At the end of her ride, she would fight, she'd do what she had to. She felt her brow scrunch as she leaned back into the leather seats. She'd told Jane over the years that she wouldn't let him kill Red John, but somewhere along the way, she'd conjured up a dramatic fight to the death between the two of them in her mind. A chill ran down her spine at the thought. It seemed strange, wrong in a way even, that she was about to face Red John without Jane.

* * *

Twenty minutes into her ride the car began to slow and finally stop. Her phone vibrated again. She flipped it open feeling more and more annoyed, instead of afraid like she suspected she probably should feel. She didn't like being toyed with. She quickly read the message and followed the instructions by removing her corsage and getting out of the car.

The CBI building stood before her, completely dark. The S.U.V. left as soon as she started walking toward the entrance. She memorized the plate number as it turned out of the lot. She walked slowly into the building and took the elevator to her floor. When the doors opened she stepped off slowly, but confidently. The floor was completely darkened and the only light that could be seen came from the fire exit signs and the streets lights below.

The loud clicking of her heels on the wood floor below her feet was the only sound to be heard. She quickly stepped out of her heels as she continued forward into the darkness and toward her office. When she reached her office, she slowly opened the door. She was about to step in when a soft voice permeated the silence surrounding her making her freeze in her tracks.

"You do have an undeniable allure Agent Lisbon. I understand Jane's fascination," the high pitched male voice said amusedly, making the hair on Lisbon's arms rise.

She turned abruptly, saw something dark coming toward her, swung out, felt her hand make contact with something hard before she was roughly knocked down. Her clutch slid across the floor as the dark silhouette approached her again. She kicked out, hitting him in the gut then turned pushing herself to her feet and ran into her office. Before she was able to get around her desk she felt and heard a large cracking noise to her head. Her eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground.

* * *

Lisbon could feel something warm dripping across her face. Her forehead scrunched and a searing, throbbing pain hit her. She moaned as she rolled from her side onto her back and sat up. Her vision was blurry and it took a moment before her eyes readjusted to the light. She looked around trying to figure out where she was. The warm liquid dripping down her face caught her attention once again. She reached up to the right side of her forehead and touched it tenderly feeling a clot of blood.

Everything rushed back to her. She was in her office. She looked around frantically then stood up as quickly as she was able. She was dizzy and nearly lost her balance. She made her way slowly around her desk, grabbed the phone and called the first number that came to her mind: Jane's. She let it ring through to voicemail before hanging up and calling the next number that came to mind.

"Hello?" Rigsby's anxious voice asked.

"Rigs…" her voice got caught in her throat.

"Boss!" His voice strengthened. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

She could hear Cho and Van Pelt's talking on the other end as they gathered around the phone. "I'm fine. I'm at HQ." Her hand tightened around the receiver.

"What were you thinking, going there by yourself. We've been worried sick about you!" he told her angrily.

"I can explain everything later. Is Jane there?" she reached up to her head again reminded that she was bleeding by the sudden dizziness that was trying to envelope her.

"No," Rigsby said quietly. "He left about 25 minutes ago. We don't know where he went."

Lisbon cursed internally. She had been the red herring. Jane had been the intended target the entire time. Her head spun from the pain, from the panic building, from the tension of not knowing where Jane was.

"Red John used me," she seethed more to herself than Rigsby. Her free hand left her head and dropped to her desk, helping her to support her weight.

Rigsby was silent for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I was never the intended victim," she began.

"Wait, boss, hang on…" Rigsby told her, and she could hear Van Pelt in the background talking. Then Rigsby spoke again, "Boss, your tracker just came on. It's at your house."

"It was off?" She shook her head; of course it was, if it hadn't been the team would have been at HQ by now, or at her apartment... "Never mind. Get there as fast as you can," she ordered.

"Boss, if you think Red John's there you can't go in by yourself." His voice was concerned, but she could hear that they were already moving. They'd be in their cars heading there way before she'd hung up. "If you're at HQ, we're easily ten minutes behind you."

"Fifteen," she said quietly, mapping the distance from the HQ to her apartment and from the Consulate to her apartment. "Move fast. I think he has Jane…" She wanted to explain her irrationality, why she would go in without back up, but didn't know what to say besides that.

"We'll hurry Boss," Rigsby said before hanging up. He'd understood. The team all understood what it meant to protect Jane. She should've known that they'd understand.

Lisbon hung up then proceeded to do a calming exercise that Jane had once taught her. She breathed in slowly, held her breath and tightened every muscle in her body, as she counted to ten. Then at ten she released all the air at the same time she relaxed all her muscles. She then took several breaths after that and walked back out into the hall.

Her head was very clear now. That trick had always worked for her, Jane had promised it would and now she knew exactly what she needed to do. Any pain she might have been feeling was gone, replaced with a desire to find and protect Jane. She looked around the floor for her clutch. When she found it she picked it up, opened it, and pulled out her car keys, then dropped the clutch again with a small thud.

She felt suddenly very relieved that she had let Jane drive her to the banquet tonight. Especially sense her car was happily equipped with three guns. She ran past her shoes and straight for the stairs, not wanting to bother waiting for the elevator.

She'd fallen into a trap once tonight and she wasn't silly enough to imagine that this wasn't another, but she knew whatever was waiting for her at her place couldn't be good. Either way Jane was in trouble and she was going to get to him before it was too late.

* * *

Jane took a deep breath in, held it, then proceeded to tense every muscle in his body including his hands, legs, eyes, everything. He counted to ten then let the air in his lungs out at the same time that he allowed every muscle to relax. He immediately felt more in control. He knew it wasn't a permanent fix, but he had to be present right now. He couldn't just let Red John take everything from him. He couldn't let him have what was left of his mind. Not yet…

Jane slowly pushed himself to his feet and away from his vomit. His eyes drifted to the bed again and immediately he felt bile trying to rise out of his throat again. He took a few calming breaths, as he stepped toward the bed. Red John had done this all for a reason and no matter how painful this was he had to do it…now, while everything was still… fresh. His entire body began to tremble as he reached the upper part of the bed.

He reached out touching her head, and felt blood squishing from her hair through his fingers. It was still warm, but raw somehow...dead. He pulled it away quickly, shocked by the amount of blood he'd just felt. Without thinking both of his hands went to her body, one to her hair and the other to her arm. He immediately knew something wasn't right about the scene.

His hand squeezed her torn and bloodied arm lightly. He stared down at the form in front of him, when it suddenly occurred to him what it was. Red John had stripped her of her clothes, but had still covered most of the lower half of her body with the sheets from the bed. He'd been trying to disguise the woman's height. She was at least five feet eight inches tall.

"It's not Lisbon," he said aloud. He stood tall and backed away from her. He felt his chest rising and falling as he breathed deeply, relief spreading throughout him. His hands reached for his chest gripping at his shirt as he breathed in and out. He looked around the room again, feeling a sudden need to get of it. He turned to the door and moved quickly past it and into the hall. Just as he was about to descend the stairs he glanced back at the room, suddenly sure there was something there that hadn't been before. The light hit the door in a strange way, illuminating something on it that hadn't been there before. He moved back toward it several steps before he saw that there was a note tapped to it, then finally came to a stop right in front of it.

He glanced around nervously; there hadn't been a note when he'd first arrived. He reached up and removed it. The Red John smiley face smiled up at him from the paper as he read the two words written in clean type, in the center of the page:

You're Welcome

"Jane," a familiar tentative female voice called out to him. He jumped dropping the paper in the process and looked down the hall toward the stairs just as Lisbon hit the top step and advanced toward him. Her gun was aloft, but she lowered it when she saw him. "Are you okay," she asked him. "You're covered in blood," her voice was nervous, and she advanced faster.

He stared at her blankly. Only a few minutes ago, she'd been dead, and now she was here, standing in front of him… and within that time Red John had placed the note on the door.

"Jane," she repeated just as she reached him. Her hand went up as she looked at the front of his tux for a wound. "What hap…" her question dropped as she glanced into her room and saw the body. She gasped. "Who's…"

He looked at her face as she took in the dead body and suddenly saw the blood running down her check from her scalp. And that was it, what he'd needed to see to break him out of his shock. He grabbed her bare arm, almost dazed once again by the skin on skin contact—the difference of her warmth to the rawness of the body, and headed for the stairs pulling her along behind him.

"What are you doing?" her voice sounded concerned but she didn't put up a struggle as guided her almost roughly down the stairs.

"We have to get out of here," he told her.

"Jane, he's gone," she said soothingly.

He looked at her as they reached the door.

"I did a sweep of the house," she told Jane nervously. "Unless he's in my room, he's gone." She waited for him to say something and when he didn't she continued. "The guys should be here any minute now."

Jane looked up the stairs. He hadn't been there, he was sure of it. Her closet had been opened and she had boxes under her bed. Besides, if he had been hiding in there, he would've had to walk right past him to place the note. The room was empty. Red John was gone. Lisbon was safe… for now.

* * *

It was only five minutes later when the team arrived at the apartment, along with an ambulance, uniformed cops and several fire trucks. Jane had insisted that Lisbon get looked at as the team made their way inside. He'd stayed with her, always touching her—a hand at her wrist, near her head wound, on her shoulder, an elbow brushing her arm, leg resting next to a leg.

Her head wound, fortunately looked much worse than it actually was, but she was going to need a few stitches. She'd made a fuss when they'd cleaned it, but Jane wasn't going to let her bully them when she was in need of medical care. The EMT's had wanted to take her to the hospital, but she'd refused. It wasn't until Jane promised to take her there later that they'd let her leave. Then Jane and Lisbon made their way over to Jane's car and leaned up against it.

One of the EMT's came over and offered Lisbon a blanket. She smiled lightly at him and thanked him as Jane had taken the blanket and wrapped it over her shoulders. He'd almost forgotten about the cocktail dress she was in and knew she must be cold. He glanced down at her bare feet on the cement below and watched as her toes briefly curled under then straightened out again. He looked back up at her again and felt a surge of emotion hit him as he did. Lisbon smiled at him weakly as they made eye contact.

It was then that Cho had made his way back down to them, his face was hiding nothing. Jane was almost relived by his timing, until he saw that Cho was frustrated and disgusted. Jane noticed Lisbon's face drop as he got closer.

"What is it?" she asked him nervously.

"We can't identify her, her face was cut past recognition," Cho told her before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jane felt a renewed sense of nausea hit him. That explained the amount of blood he'd felt when he'd touched her hair. He was suddenly torn between relief that Lisbon was alive and anguish that someone else had suffered senselessly. "I know who it is," Jane barely managed to get out.

Lisbon turned to look at him? "You do? Well, who is it?" Her voice sounded a little hysterical, even though she was trying to hide it.

Guilt pushed through the nausea as Red John's victim's last words to him replayed themselves in his head. _It turns out I am capable of loving. _Jane swallowed the lump in his throat. _I did what I had to do to protect you. _Lisbon and Cho looked at him anxiously, waiting for his answer. "Erica." He reached an arm out, almost without thinking and wrapped it around Lisbon. "It was Erica Flynn."

* * *

Jane removed his jacket throwing it over the back of a chair at his table then removed the blood soaked shirt, dumping it on the floor. He made his way to his bed and lay down. He'd just spent the last 18 or so hours, forcing Lisbon to the hospital for stitches, then at the CBI HQ giving his statement, going over every single second of Friday night with the team, listening to Lisbon's statement and looking at the scene that had unfolded at HQ as Lisbon recounted her story. They'd both stopped abruptly on entering her office when they saw a couch cushion on the floor, with a little blood on it. She didn't need to tell Jane that that was the spot where Red John had knocked her unconscious, and she seemed just as surprised as Jane felt realizing that Red John had placed a pillow under her head.

Jane was exhausted but doubted he'd be able to sleep. He glanced up at the textured ceiling and fidgeted on his bed, trying hard not to replay his last conversation with Erica, to hear the desperation in her voice, or see the fear in her eyes. Van Pelt had offered Lisbon her couch, which Lisbon had accepted gratefully. Jane had been grateful as well. He didn't think she should be alone. Still he knew Lisbon well enough to know that she would only stay in the arrangement for a few days, then she'd move into a motel until her apartment was no longer a crime scene. He wasn't sure if she'd stay in it or not and frankly, was too tired to think about it.

Jane turned on his side and pushed his pillow up under his neck. He closed his eye, focused on his breathing and was nearly asleep when his phone began to ring from the jacket pocket of the coat he'd slung over the chair. He thought about ignoring it, but changed his mind when it occurred to him that it might be Lisbon. He jumped up on the second ring, found it on the third, and answered it quickly on the fourth.

"Lisbon," he said loudly. "Don't hang up."

The phone was quiet on the other side.

"Hello?" Jane asked as he walked back to his bed.

"Hello Patrick," said the high tenor voice that Jane immediately recognized as belonging to Red John.

Jane dropped to his bed and his heart began to race.

"Did you enjoy my gift?"

"I'm sorry," Jane's heard himself say angrily, "was I _supposed_ to find some enjoyment in what you did?" Erica's face popped into his head, followed by the image of her dead body. Jane squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to shut the images out. Then he opened them again.

Red John chuckled lightly, sending a jolt directly to Jane's heart. "Now now, no need to get touchy."

"You killed a woman I was very fond of and you expect me to be happy?" Jane could feel his body starting to tremble from anger.

"Yes, I did that," Red John said matter-of-factly. "It made sense you see. She was making the team and... _you_ look bad. She had to be dealt with."

Jane swallowed hard at Red John's admission.

"I couldn't risk my case being handed over to anyone else," Red John continued, "you know how I miss you when they do. Besides, her and your lovely Agent Lisbon had similar enough hair for me to be able to trick you momentarily into believing that Ms. Flynn was Teresa."

Jane felt a mixture of anger and revulsion hit him. "Why would you do that? What would be the point in doing that?" He could feel his shoulders rising and falling with every breath he took.

"Ah," Red John said sounding pleased that Jane had asked. "I don't normally like to give away my secrets, but in this case…" he chuckled again. "I told you I was going to give you Lisbon, did I not? Alive and well, and now that you've faced her death you'll be able to appreciate her so much more…" his tone was filled with innuendo. "You needed a good scare—you needed to see how easily you could lose her. I've told you before that you need a new life. Maybe now you'll actually get one."

"Why not just kill her?" Jane asked. "I thought you liked causing me pain."

"I did cause you pain, and it was beautiful, but I can't kill Teresa Lisbon, not yet anyway, not while you're still so much fun."

Jane slid forward on his bed. "Why's that?"

"Well she's just about the only thing keeping you half sane," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You'd be no use to me in a mental ward. No, I enjoy sparring with you far too much."

"I'd tell you you're a psycho, but I think it goes without saying." Jane was starting to calm himself.

"Now, Patrick, is that anyway to treat a friend." He almost sounded hurt. Almost. "One who has so kindly taken care of Erica Flynn and has given you a second chance with the lovely Agent Lisbon?" He chuckled. "She looked amazing in her little cocktail dress by the way, didn't she?"

Jane sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly realizing what Red John's game had been. "Friend?"

"I did say friend didn't I?" his voice was amused once again. "My hand is still outstretched. Whenever you're ready."

This time Jane chuckled. Low and cruel. "I certainly played a number on you didn't I?" Jane let his words sink in. "You don't actually think that I would ever be friends with you?"

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. Jane knew he'd hit a sensitive spot. He heard a shuffle of the phone before Red John spoke again. "Well you can't blame a guy for trying. Until next time Patrick."

The line went dead. Jane closed his phone and threw it to his bed side table.

* * *

**Okay, Red John's a total creeper. Yeesh. Still, you didn't actually think he'd kill Lisbon, did you? That definitely would have made this the worst romance ever. Killing the leading lady... uh uh, no way! Especially a leading lady as cool as Lisbon. Thanks again for your lovely reviews!**


	16. Murder, Poets and Peach Tea

**Meh! I'm so sorry this took forever! I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 16 Murder, Poets and Peach Tea

Lisbon leaned further back into the beige couch in her hotel room. Jane moved in front of her and sat on the coffee table, then set his car keys quietly next to him. Their knees interweaved as Jane reached forward and clasped her right wrist, causing Lisbon to gulp quietly. His hand was strong and his fingers soft as they caressed her wrist in a circular motion searching for her pulse.

"Relax, Teresa," he said in a voice that was maddeningly tranquil. "Close your eyes."

She felt suddenly embarrassed by the increasing speed of her heart, but did as she was told anyway.

"Breathe," he ordered. She could hear a smile in his tone. It was only then that she noticed she'd been holding her breath. She breathed loudly and reached out with her left hand to the hem of her Chicago Bears jersey and tugged it down. She was about to pull her hand back when she felt the back of Jane's other hand slide across her knee right before his fingers encircled left wrist. She twitched away, but he held tight until she relaxed her hand. She could feel the fabric of his pants brush past her bare legs as he scooted a little closer to her. His fingers began running soothing circles over her left wrist in perfect synchronization with the circles his other hand was rubbing on her right wrist. He continued stroking her wrists for several minutes as she focused on her breathing.

Her lids were beginning to feel heavy when she suddenly heard Jane clear his throat… loudly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Lisbon eyes flew open in agitation, but the agitation was quickly replaced with anxiety when she saw just how close to her Jane actually was. His elbows were wresting on his knees and he was leaning forward, all the while caressing her wrists with his thumbs. Her breath hitched in her throat and Jane smiled, reminding her that she was irritated. "I wouldn't have let you in if I wasn't sure," she told him feeling a little flustered.

"Well, you're not being very convincing, dear."

She took a deep breath. "Do you want me to kick you out?" He smiled at her in a way that made her blood boil. She rolled her eyes. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

His brow scrunched. "Relax," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and his face reflected the same sentiment.

"I am relaxed," Lisbon spat.

Jane's brows arched and he looked at her quizzically. "I can't do this," he said as he let go of her wrists and slid back.

Lisbon could feel herself starting to panic. She sat up straight and reached out for his hands, but paused and pulled back. "I'm sorry; I'll do whatever you ask. I swear."

"You are way too keyed up. There's no way I'm going to be able to hypnotize you like this," he told her sincerely.

She took a deep breath. "You may be able to control your biorhythms or whatever you call it, but I can't. Couldn't you just trick me into thinking that you're not going to hypnotize me like last time?" She sounded desperate even to her own ears and hated it, but she was _so_ tired.

"No," Jane shook his head, "that's exactly what you're expecting me to do, it wouldn't work."

Lisbon slumped back into the cushions.

"We're just going to have to do this the good old fashioned way," he told her suppressing a grin.

She quickly sat up. "What do you mean 'the old fashioned way'?" Her cheeks began to flush.

"You're going to have to tell me what's been bothering you," he said calmly.

Lisbon stood up abruptly and walked toward the bed and away from Jane. "You're not my therapist Jane!"

Jane angled his body in her direction. Her back was still to him. "No, but I am your friend," he told her. "You can't sleep…"

"I can sleep," she said turning back to face him. "I was half asleep on that couch thirty seconds ago. Falling asleep isn't the problem." Her voice was anxious and she wrapped her arms around her small frame.

"Then what is?" Jane kept his voice as soothing as possible.

Lisbon eyed him angrily then began to pace. "Staying asleep," she said it quickly and could see Jane wanted her to go on. "I'm having nightmares okay, you happy now?" She shook her head and began pacing a hole in the carpet.

"No, I'm not," Jane told her. She slowed her pace to look at him obviously disarmed by his statement. "Of course I'm not." He stood up and moved over to her, grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. He bent his knees a little so he could better look her in the eye. "Teresa, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

She looked at him cautiously for a moment. Jane knew he had her; he could always get her to talk, even if she didn't want to. So he waited patiently for the telltale gaze that meant she was about to spill. It didn't come. What did come surprised him—pity and it was practically tearing holes in his sensitive ego as did her step out of his grasp and away from him.

"No," she crossed her arms tightly across her chest again, and looked at the ugly floral print carpet. "I'm not going to weigh you down with my thoughts."

He stepped forward and she stepped back. "Teresa, weigh me down," he said, arms extended out to her.

She made eye contact and her eyes glistened for a split second, then her face turned hard. "What about you Jane?" She was trying to get a rise out of him, but she was still sincere. "I know you cared about Erica, but you won't talk to me about it will you?"

Jane felt as though he'd been kicked in the gut, but he managed to keep his expression calm and indecipherable. "I've been living with insomnia for years, Lisbon. Talking about it isn't going to change that for me, but it could help you to talk about what's keeping you up at night."

She looked toward the wall. "You know, I have to be up early tomorrow, so if you could just…"

Jane walked toward her thoughtlessly and pulled her into a hug. "Don't pull away from me," he whispered in her hair. She kept her arms crossed as he held her. "I sleep better knowing you're okay." He felt her breathing heavily in his grasp. "Talk to me." He meant what he said, but it was also a manipulation. He was appealing to her nurturing side.

Jane felt her hand come up to his chest, it rested there for a moment and he knew she was trying to decide what to do next. He exhaled as she slowly pushed him away.

"'This isn't a one way street…' isn't that what you said to me?" She let her words sink in.

Jane took a step back, shocked that she was throwing that in his face, and if he was being completely honest a little proud too.

"Probably one of the smartest things you've ever said come to think of it," she continued. "Red John thinks there aren't any secrets between us, but he couldn't be more wrong."

Jane could feel a lump in his throat. "Teresa…"

She raised her hand to head off whatever he was going to say. "I care about you Jane, you know I do, but I can't keep pretending that this," she signaled between the two of them with her hand, "that this is fine. Either you trust me or you don't."

"You know I do." Jane fought the urge to grab her again and hold her tightly to his chest. He stuck his hands in his coat pockets instead.

"Oh please, how many Red John secrets are you keeping from me?" Her hands went to her hips.

"Don't do that. If I am keeping secrets from you, and I'm not saying I am, it's only because I want to protect you."

She flinched at his words, almost as if she'd been slapped.

"You just thought of something," he said as he removed his hand from his jacket and pointed it at her. "What was it?"

"Nothing, I don't know what you're talking about," she lied quickly. Her hands dropped to her sides and she curled them into tight fists, as if she were preparing to fight to keep her secret.

"Teresa Lisbon, I know you're lying to me," he said patronizingly. Her chin went back and her eyes lit up in aggravation. He continued, "You asked me to help you, but I can't if you aren't completely honest with me."

At that she walked past him, past the couch, and the bathroom and to her door yanking it open, Jane watching all the while. "Goodnight Jane."

"You're kicking me out?" he said pointing to himself. "That's real mature."

"You wanna talk to _me_ about being mature?" The volume of her voice increased.

"Oh, don't even get me started," he said taking a step back toward the bed and away from her and the open door.

"Excuse me?" Her hands went to her hips again. "You think you can come up with something that I did that was immature. Please, I'd love to hear it."

"Oh that's right, St. Teresa could never do anything wrong, always self-sacrificing, never asking for help even when she desperately needs it…" Jane pointed at her, "…always standing alone."

She stepped away from the door and toward him aggressively. "I stand alone? You're a freaking Island!"

"Fine, you want to play? Let's see who can go longer without sleep then." He told her walking toward the door and consciously stopping in front of her. "I give you three days, tops."

"It's already been two weeks, Jane…" she jabbed a finger at his chest.

"Hey!" Jane yelped swatting her finger away.

"…and we both know I can last six months thanks to your little furlough," she added.

"Oh, sure bring that up again." He started backing out of the door. "Seriously are you ever going to drop it?"

Her glare turned to an amused smirk. "Not as long as it suits my purposes."

"Very mature," he said with a big grin as he stopped her from shutting the door on him.

"Get out," she said sounding exasperated.

He raised his hands as if in surrender. "Fine." He turned from her and walked out into the hall.

"Thank you," she said sounding relieved.

"You're welcome," he called back to her as he sauntered toward the elevator. He heard the door click shut behind him as he reached the elevator and reached into his pockets looking for his keys. They weren't there. He felt his vest and pant pockets next, before remembering that they were sitting on the coffee table back in Lisbon's hotel room. He rolled his eyes then made his way back down to her room and knocked.

A moment later the door opened and out reached Lisbon's hand, holding his keys. She dropped them into his open palm, then placed her now free hand on her hip as she leaned against the door with an amused smirk on her face.

Jane grinned. "Thanks… That was unintentional."

Her eyebrows rose as she looked at him skeptically.

"Glad to see those gams of yours again though," he said unable to stop himself from irritating her one last time.

She rolled her eyes. "Goodnight Jane," she said as she shut the door in his face.

"Goodnight." Jane felt suddenly very relaxed.

* * *

"See anything new?" Van Pelt asked Lisbon.

Lisbon moved slowly around her apartment bedroom looking at the scene as though it had just happened yesterday. It was stuffy and smelled of bleach. She tried to picture the scene before forensics had arrived two weeks ago, when everything was still fresh: the candles and rose pedals leading up to her room and covering it, the bloody smiley face on the wall, Erica's body, the smell of blood and sweet roses. The only thing that remained now was the smiley face, the only bit of evidence that forensics couldn't take out of her apartment. Even her mattress was gone, leaving nothing but an empty frame that had been pulled apart and stacked against the wall.

She walked forward stopping in front of the Red John symbol and stared at it for a moment. There was no mistaking it. She'd seen enough of his marks and enough fakes to be able to distinguish very easily between the real ones and the fakes. Not that there had ever been any doubt in her mind that this was Red John. One look at Jane's face and she had known that Red John had been there. The expression he wore was unmistakable—it was the same face she'd seen on him at every Red John crime scene: a certain amount of fear, disgust, sadness, mixed with mania and lust for revenge. Admittedly there had been something else in his eyes when he'd seen her, something that she wasn't used to seeing during a Red John case, something she couldn't pinpoint. She could hardly blame him, he'd thought she was dead and he'd lost a friend.

"Boss?" Van Pelt's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "You okay?"

"I'm going to have to get a new bed," she said before turning and looking at Van Pelt.

"I can't believe no one saw anything, considering the amount of flowers and candles he brought in," Van Pelt was searching the curtains for the umpteenth time.

"It _was_ an excessive amount. He wanted to make an impression." Lisbon walked over to the window and looked down at the street below.

"Poor Jane," Van Pelt said.

"Red John would've had to spend a lot of time in here getting everything set up," Lisbon's brow furrowed as she looked out the window at the street below, being careful not to get in Van Pelt's way. "He obviously used the time I was at the party wisely."

"How's Jane doing?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Lisbon inquired gently looking back at Van Pelt who was moving away from the curtains.

Van Pelt looked over at Lisbon quickly and then at her feet. "I've tried, he just brushes it off like it's no big deal. You know how he is."

"That I do." The thought of Jane grabbing and hugging her in her room last night popped into her mind. He'd been trying to manipulate her, which is why she pushed him away. If he wanted her to open up, then he'd have to as well. Lisbon moved over to her closet and opened the doors. She started examining every crevice of the doors and corners of the closet. She'd already done this, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to do it one more time.

"Does he ever talk to you about it?" Van Pelt's reluctant voice asked from behind her.

Lisbon froze momentarily before continuing her search. "No," she said quickly. She looked back at Van Pelt's sad expression and felt a small jolt in her stomach. "Grace, you're a good friend." She moved away from the closet. "I wouldn't worry about him too much. Jane's, well," she searched for the words, "he's… he's resilient, a survivor. He'll be okay." She gave Van Pelt an encouraging smile. She wanted to believe what she was saying, but was secretly afraid that Jane was slowly losing himself with every Red John murder they faced.

Van Pelt looked up at the smiley face and shivered noticeably, before folding her arms in front of her chest.

Lisbon walked over to her and touched her arm briefly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, just creeped out." Van Pelt kept her eyes on the smiley face. "Are you sure you still want to live here?"

"Where else would I live?" She asked looking around. "This is my apartment."

Van Pelt turned to Lisbon with brow creased. "There are other places you could get an apartment you know."

Lisbon shrugged and shoved her hands in her front jean pockets. "I don't want to give Red John the satisfaction. He likes to show that he can uproot lives; force people do to what he wants. I will not be manipulated by him."

"Do you think that's why Jane kept his house in Malibu?"

Lisbon eyes glanced over the carpet stopping on a spot that had been bleached out from scrubbing while Van Pelt spoke. It was the spot where Jane had thrown up. A huge lump formed in her throat as she imagined him walking into this room, seeing what Red John had done, hunching over and losing the contents of his stomach.

"Boss?"

She swallowed hard and was glad when she answered that her voice didn't sound shaky. "No," she pulled her eyes away from the carpet and placed them on Van Pelt. "He kept it to punish himself." She glanced around the room one last time. "Let's get out of here. I have a lot of paper work to do."

* * *

Jane leaned against the conference table down by Rigsby desk drinking from his favorite teacup. The vanilla spice was just what he needed to boost his energy. As he'd predicted he'd spent most of the night awake and worrying about Lisbon's nightmares. He made a quick glance into her office and saw her leaning her head into her right hand while she was doing paper work. He shook his head. She was exhausted.

Jane started going over the pros and cons of bursting into her office and insisting she tell him what she'd been dreaming about, or hypnotizing her into a confession against her will. He had to admit that neither seemed very promising, unless he wanted a punch in the nose. His nose wriggled at the memory of the last time she'd punched him. He'd convinced her that she along with a couple hundred other people, had been exposed to a deadly virus and would be dead in a few short hours.

Jane remembered how calm she'd been, how poised. He hadn't expected it. Jane smiled remembering the pride he'd felt toward her in that moment. Then he swallowed nervously remembering how he'd confessed that he'd want to call her if he was really going to die, and how she'd asked him what he'd say to her. Of course she'd figured out right then that they weren't going to die and had given him a good wallop in the nose.

He took another sip of his tea. Why had he told her that he'd want to call her? It was true of course, but why had he told her that? And what would he have said if he were dying, or if she hadn't found out they weren't about to die? His brow furrowed as he considered those questions with mixed emotions.

Just then Rigsby made his way past him and to his desk. "Is she okay," Rigsby asked nodding back toward Lisbon's office before taking a seat at his desk.

Jane finished taking a sip of his tea, then nodded. "She's fine, just tired."

"You're both looking a little worse for wear these days," Rigsby said.

"Thank you," Jane quipped.

Rigsby turned his chair toward Jane. "I don't mean it like that. But seriously you two need to get some sleep."

"Why don't you hypnotize her?" Cho turned in his chair, looked at Lisbon and then at Jane as he spoke.

"I tried," Jane found himself confessing, "she's too worked up." Jane trailed off as he glanced into Lisbon's office catching her in a huge yawn. He felt irritated. Why'd she have to be so stubborn all the time?

"You can't get her to relax?" Cho asked.

"Not unless she talks to me about what's bothering her," Jane ran his hand through his hair. "And she won't do that unless I talk to her first."

"Wow, aren't you two the poster children for communication?" Rigsby said through a grin.

Jane kept his eyes on Lisbon. "I'll ware her down."

"Twenty bucks says you won't." Rigsby leaned back in his chair.

Jane pulled his gaze from Lisbon and smiled. He could feel some of his old self spilling through. Maybe a challenge was just what he needed.

"I bet he can," Cho threw in.

Jane's smile grew as he moved his gaze to the straight-faced agent.

"You in Jane?" Cho asked.

Jane was about to say yes, when he glanced over at Lisbon again. She was straightening her desk, trying to stay awake. His heart dropped at the same time his smile did.

"Yeah Jane," Rigsby voice goaded, "you in?"

Jane felt his jaw tightening. He looked down. "No, I don't think so." He stood up and walked out of the bullpen and toward Lisbon's office. He heard Cho and Rigsby agree on the bet as he pushed her door open and walked in. He stopped in front of her desk and stuck his hands in his pant pockets.

Jane waited for her to look up at him as she pushed her pencils around. When she finally did it was with raised eyebrows.

Jane rolled back on his heels. "Lisbon…"

"Jane…" she mimicked.

He smiled. "Are you ready to talk to me?"

Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed. "Are you?"

Jane made eye contact and Lisbon held it fearlessly. He was about to say something when her phone rang. He was glad, because for possibly the first time in his life, he wasn't sure what he was going to say. He could see she knew it was a copout.

She rolled her eyes and answered the phone. "Lisbon... yes. Alright, what's the address?" she asked grabbing a pencil to jot down notes in her notepad. "Yes sir, we're on our way." She hung up the phone, looked up at him and smiled. "We have a case." With that she was stood and walked out of her office.

* * *

Lisbon walked into the living room where the victim had been found. The space was gaudy, the entire house was gaudy for that matter. Large paintings with large frames, decorative carpets and fireplaces were in near every room, including this one. Van Pelt and Pat from the corners' office stood over the body examining it.

"What do we have?" Lisbon asked looking over the victim. The victim's body was resting on a sofa with a tea cup in her hand. Her head lay awkwardly against the back of the couch and her lips were blue.

"Evelyn O'Reilly, 27 years old. Looks like suffocation," Van Pelt said taking a step back to let Lisbon get a look.

"Suffocation," Lisbon shuddered "what a way to go."

Pat stood up and looked at Lisbon. "I'll need to do an autopsy before I can say definitively… but yes, it's looking that…" Pat stopped talking abruptly and looked toward the entrance to the living room. "Jane," she continued after her initial shock at seeing him faded. "I heard you were back."

"Yes, the rumors are true," he said in a singsong voice with a smirk. "I'm back." Jane walked over to the body and began examining it.

Pat moved over to her bags and was now packing them, while Jane leaned in close to the body and sniffed it.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and turned to Van Pelt who was looking the room over. "Why are we here?" Lisbon asked her.

Van Pelt turned her attention from the room to Lisbon. "She was Sara Ryder's personal assistant. This is Ms. Ryder's home."

"Sara Ryder… the author?" Lisbon asked. Van Pelt nodded.

Pat grabbed her bag and looked toward the body stopping dead in her tracks again. Lisbon looked back at the body and Jane. Jane had removed the tea cup from the victim's hand and was smelling the contents. He stuck the tip of his pinky in the liquid, then tapped it to his tongue before screwing his face up in displeasure and making an icky noise.

"Jane, what are you doing?" Lisbon asked placing her hands on her hips.

"This tea's wrong." Jane looked up and into Lisbon's eyes.

Lisbon smirked. "Well what do you expect? It's been there for hours."

"This wasn't suffocation," Jane said definitively, ignoring Lisbon, as he set the tea down on the side table with a disgusted look on his face.

"How do you figure?" Pat asked curiously.

"It's a peach tea, but it's bitter," he told her matter-of-factly.

"I think," Van Pelt said suppressing a smile, "she was referring to the suffocation."

Jane shuffled toward the body unperturbed by Van Pelt's comment and pointed to the victim's lips, "She was poisoned, I'm guessing with Strychnine—it has a bitter taste, plus her lips and finger tips are blue," Pat walked over to the body and lifted her hands to examine the finger tips, "and she had convulsions," he pointed to the awkward angle of her back and the way her head was rested on the back of the couch. "See how her back is arched and her head is at that uncomfortable angle. And if she'd been suffocated she wouldn't have been holding her tea cup in a death grip, it would've been broken on the floor somewhere."

"That doesn't mean she was poisoned," Lisbon reasoned.

"Strychnine does have those effects," Pat said as she lowered the victims hands and stood up, her eyes were wide with amazement.

Jane continued, pleased with his audience. "If she wanted to kill herself with a poison, why would she choose one that would cause this kind of pain? She wouldn't have wanted to suffer. Who would?"

"Okay, poisoning," Lisbon muttered sounding less than thrilled. "There's gonna be press all over this."

"Who found her?" Jane asked looking at Van Pelt. Lisbon looked at Van Pelt too.

"You're gonna love this, Boss," Van Pelt said sarcastically, "Sara Ryder and her friend Katharine Shultz."

"Fantastic, maybe it'll show up in one of her books someday," Lisbon said sarcastically. "Pat, you can go ahead and get the body out of here. The sooner the better, and let me know as soon as you can about the Strychnine?"

"Sure thing." Pat turned from the room.

Jane moved away from the body and came to stand next to Lisbon. "Where are they?" Jane asked Van Pelt.

"They're with Cho and Rigsby in the Kitchen." Van Pelt pointed the direction and Jane left while Lisbon gave Van Pelt orders.

"Look around the house," Lisbon told Van Pelt, "see what you can see."

"On it."

Lisbon walked in the direction Van Pelt had pointed and could hear animated talking before she entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was painted lime green, and had an island in the middle where two women were sitting, one in tears, the other passively looking on. Cho and Rigsby stood opposite of them and two unidentified men stood around the crying woman, comforting her. Lisbon recognized her immediately as Sara Ryder. She was just a little taller than Lisbon and had light brown hair. The other woman, Lisbon guessed, must be Katharine Schultz. She was quite a bit taller than Lisbon, with long blonde hair, hazel green eyes and an air of surety about her. She didn't look sad, but she didn't look happy either. She was ringing her hands under the counter.

Jane was looking through the cupboards as Cho and Rigsby tried, without success, to ask Sara questions. Lisbon stayed back and surveyed the situation.

"I don't understand," Sara said between sobs. "She was fine when we left. We were only gone for a couple of hours."

One of the two men reached over and rubbed Sara's back. "It's okay Sara."

"Why… why would someone kill her?" Sara looked at Rigsby, who was obviously uncomfortable, and then she dabbed at her nose with a handkerchief. Rigsby tried to say something, but was cut off by another cry.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Sara." The shorter of the two men comforting Sara said. "We don't know that she was murdered."

"She was murdered," Cho said coolly.

Sara looked at Cho with a shocked expression and let out another sob.

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?" Rigsby asked kindly.

Sara looked at both the two men standing with her, then back at Rigsby. "I… I don't know. She was a lovely girl. Very affable." She started tracing circles on the counter with her fingers.

Jane shut a cupboard loudly and opened another, drawing attention from the two men with Sara.

Katharine looked at Jane curiously, then back at Cho and Rigsby and finally spoke. "She was contentious, but still very popular. She loved playing the devil's advocate, and some people didn't like that. She was different because she was disarming. She'd flip her hair over her shoulder, look up at you through her lashes, and then attack mercilessly."

"That's enough, Katharine." The taller man with black hair jumped in. Then he looked at Cho and Rigsby. "She was strong-willed, but she was well liked."

Katharine took a deep frustrated breath out, turned her body away from Sara and the men crossed her legs and folded her arms in front of her chest. "I didn't say she wasn't."

Jane closed a cupboard loudly.

"Excuse me," the man with black hair said tearing his glare from Katharine and placing it on Jane. "What are you doing?"

Jane looked back at him. "Uh, yes. I'm looking for the tea, I'm very thirsty."

"Are you crazy?" The other man said, "A woman has been murdered here."

"Yes," Jane said somberly shoving one hand into his vest pocket while rubbing the thumb of his other hand over his index finger, "so she won't be able to tell me where she kept her tea."

The man stepped toward Jane aggressively. "Show a little respect!"

Jane eyed the man suspiciously. "She's dead, she doesn't care if I know where her tea is or not."

The man stepped around the counter and advanced on Jane, but was quickly stopped by Rigsby who placed a hand on the man's chest.

"Calm down," Lisbon said jumping in. "The victim…"

"Her name was Evelyn," the other man told them viciously while continuing to comfort Sara by rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Lisbon asked looking at both the men as she took a few steps closer to the refrigerator so she could see them better and stopped.

The man with the brown hair answered. "I'm Mark Jones, Sara's manager." He pointed to the tall man with black hair who was taking a step back from Rigsby now, "This is Jeff Haus, Sara's agent." Both the men were haughty and arrogant and made Lisbon's skin crawl.

"Evelyn…," Lisbon said trying to control her irritation. She reminded herself that she was just tired and took a deep breath. "…was poisoned. We believe she ingested it through a cup of peach tea." She couldn't help but note the proud expression on Jane's face as she told them about the tea. He hadn't said it was the tea, but she thought it was obvious after he'd complained about it being bitter. Jane obviously had way too much time on his hands if he was a tea connoisseur, but it suited their purpose right now so she wasn't about to complain.

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place," Katharine asked Jane curiously.

"Jane likes messing with people," Lisbon told them.

"Oh," Sara said clearly taken aback. "That's cruel, and… and mean and unprofessional."

Lisbon noticed as Jane eyed Sara curiously and wondered what was going on his mind.

"The tea is in the cupboard next to the fridge," Katharine said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

Lisbon was closer to it than Jane and made her way there while Jane continued to look at Sara.

"Why are you staring at me?" Sara asked fidgeting under Jane's gaze.

"'O, yet we trust that somehow good/Will be the final goal of ill,'" Jane quoted.

Everyone in the room went silent. Sara's face calmed and Katharine looked away from the counter and at Jane.

"That's beautiful, what is it?" Sara asked becoming instantly more subdued.

"Tennyson," Jane told her. "Tears, Idle Tears."

Katharine sat up straight. "No, it's In Memoriam."

Jane tore his gaze from Sara and placed them on Katharine, his face lighting up as he did. "Yes, so it is. How silly of me."

Lisbon barely managed to keep her face straight, as she pulled the tea out of the cupboard. Jane, she was pretty sure, had never miss cited anything in his life. "I've got the tea, Jane."

"Katharine," Jane continued smiling at the woman in front of him. "Why do you think someone would want to kill Evelyn?"

"'I am above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect,'" Katharine said, "'between the disaster and the atrocity.'"

The man with black hair, Jeff Haus glared at Katharine.

Lisbon watched amazed as Jane's grin grew wider, his eye contact with Katharine never ceasing. Katharine smiled back, and Lisbon felt a little jolt in her stomach.

"Touché," Jane said rolling back on his heels. "Very nicely played."

"What was nicely played?" Sara asked.

Jane finally looked away from Katharine and at Lisbon. "Shall we Lisbon?"

She swallowed, then took a step back and gestured out of the kitchen. Jane passed her and she followed.

"What was that about, Jane?" she asked when they stepped out of the house.

"What was what about?"

She breathed out before responding. "Touche? Very nicely played?"

"Ah," Jane said as they reached her S.U.V. He opened the door for her. "Edgar Allen Poe."

Lisbon hopped up into the seat, and started putting on her seatbelt. "Okay," she said as her eyebrows came together, "whatever… what's ironic about that?"

Jane smiled. "Katharine was testing me." Jane shut the door, then walked around to the passenger side and got in.

"Testing you? Why?"

"She wanted to see if I would know who she was quoting." Jane fastened his seatbelt.

"Why?" she asked incredulously.

Jane's hand went up to the window and his index finger lightly tapped the glass. "She wanted to see if I'd really miss cited Tennyson."

"Wow," Lisbon said, turning the car on. "Sharp woman. Do you think she's the killer?"

"No," Jane shook his head. "I think she was the intended victim."

* * *

**Sorry again that it took me so long. I was having a hard time trying to figure out how I should write Jane and Lisbon after the Red John chapters. I have a clear idea of how the story goes, but I still found this part difficult. Anyway, thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated. **


	17. Pressure Point

17 Pressure Point

Gravel from the parking lot kicked up under Lisbon's feet as she made her way to the gate to speak to the security guard. A black Ford pickup pulled up as she got closer. The guard stepped out of his booth and to the vehicle. He noticed Lisbon as he did and raised a hand acknowledging her before taking care of the person in truck. Once finished with his routine he waved the car through. Lisbon moved over to him.

"Agent Lisbon," he said. "It's good to see you."

She smiled at him. "How are you Tim?"

"Good, good," he told her. "How's your… uh…?" He pointed at her head.

"Not bad, getting the stitches out tomorrow." She stuck her hands in her pockets.

"That's great. " He fidgeted uncomfortably. "I was here that night, you know."

Lisbon looked at him sympathetically. "Yeah, I do. Actually that's why I'm here."

"Anything I can do to help." He was sincere.

"I need a list of every car that came in and out of the lot that day." She looked back toward the building as she spoke then slowly put her attention back on Tim.

"Of course," he said, moving quickly back toward the booth. "If you give me a minute I can print it off for you." He took a seat at his computer.

Lisbon walked over and watched as he pulled up the record and printed it off. There were five pages. He stapled them together and handed them to her.

"Seems like a lot," she said looking through the list.

"It's average." He shrugged. "Is there anything you're looking for in particular?" he asked.

"I'll know when I see it." She looked away from the paper and into his eyes. "Thanks for your help, Tim." She turned from him and made her way back to the building.

"Anytime," he called after her.

She waved at him over her shoulder.

* * *

Jane watched Lisbon walk into the bullpen from his couch. He noticed her holding a few sheets of paper which she hadn't had when she'd left ten minutes ago. He looked back down to his book, careful to only look at her when she couldn't see him. She folded it in half as she got closer to him. _Must be important, _he thought. She stopped by Van Pelt's desk looked at it, then looked back over her shoulder at Cho and Rigsby.

"Where's Grace," she asked.

Cho shrugged.

"Don't know." Rigsby looked around then back at Lisbon. "She didn't take her side arm, so I'm sure she's still in the building."

Jane spoke up letting his voice fill the space between him and Lisbon, but kept his eyes on his book. "Did you know that a python can fast up to a year if it eats something like a gazelle or a small deer? And it can digest bones."

"That's disgusting," Cho said never looking away from his computer.

"It's not disgusting, it's nature," Jane leaned forward on his couch and turned the page of his book.

"What are you reading?" Rigsby asked with furrowed brow.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and started speaking before Jane could answer. "Jane, I want you to talk to the Agent and the Manager. See if…"

Jane cut her thought off with an irritated moan and a turn of a page in his book. "No, I don't want to see either of those hot heads again. Thank you very much."

"Well someone needs to see if either of those 'hot heads' had motive for murder." She placed her hands on her hips. "It might as well…"

"Cho and Rigsby already spoke to them," Jane said as though he'd solved the problem, attention still fully on his book.

She raised the hand closest to Jane to gesture as she spoke. "No, not as potential suspects. The interviewing process is completely diff…"

"Not for me it isn't," Jane said cutting her off again.

"Jane, you're being…"

"Reasonable?" he proffered.

"Stop cutting me off," she said forcefully pointing a finger at him. "It's really…"

"Placating?" Jane finished her sentence with a smile and turned another page. He knew he was pushing it, but it couldn't be helped. The less sleep she got, the crankier she got, and the less Jane was able to control his desire to pester her. Really, she was bringing it on herself.

She glared at him. "Just go speak to them…" he could hear the restraint in her voice, "please. Take Cho."

"Just let me talk to Rigsby and Cho," he asked finally looking up from his book. "Between the two of them I have all the information I need, I assure you."

Lisbon's eyes narrowed as she considered his suggestion. "Fine, but if I don't like what you come up with, you're going."

Jane's smile grew. "A challenge, excellent."

* * *

Lisbon walked back to her office and shut the door as Jane beckoned an amused Cho and Rigsby over to the conference table. She moved around her desk and plopped down in her chair. She was so tired and irritated. Worse she knew Jane knew this and that he was intentionally trying to mess with her. She sat the list she'd acquired from Tim down, then placed her elbows on her desk, closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands. Her fingers slid across her forehead and to the side of her eyes, where she began to rub circles at her temples.

After a moment of this, she tilted her head into her left hand and flipped the list open with her right hand. She laid it out in front of her and grabbed a pen from her desk and started going through it. Logically, she knew that Red John was smarter than to have missed a detail such as this, but she couldn't help but check anyway.

"Boss?" Van Pelt called from her door.

She looked up to see the red head standing with a laptop in her hands. "Where have you been?" She sounded a little harsher than she meant to, but sat up straight and waved the agent in.

"Sorry," Van Pelt said as she made her way into the office and sat across from Lisbon. "I found a few password protected files on the victim's laptop and took it down to the techies for a little help."

"And…" Lisbon asked.

"They're running her program through the system now. They'll call me when they hack it," Van Pelt told her.

"Alright, let me know when you've got it." Lisbon looked back down at the list as Van Pelt stood again, then Lisbon looked up again quickly remembering something. "Also, see if you can't get into her personal e-mail, see if there's anything noteworthy."

Van Pelt looked at Lisbon doubtfully. "Jane said that Evelyn wasn't the intended victim. Do you think that's right?"

Lisbon looked away from Van Pelt and thought about it for a second before she spoke. "I don't know. What I do know is that Jane is usually right." She clinched her jaw at her statement, and had to fight her jaw back open to continue. "Still he doesn't have any facts for his theory as of yet, so I want to make sure we cover all our bases."

Van Pelt nodded. "Got it boss," she said, then headed out to the bullpen.

Lisbon looked out of her office toward the conference table where Jane, Cho and Rigsby sat and took a long irritated breath. She knew it was just the exhaustion, but for the first time since she could remember she really, really, wanted Jane to be wrong.

Rigsby and Cho sat across the table from Jane who was staring at them thoughtfully while they spoke.

"No," Rigsby answered Jane. "We didn't ask them any questions. We had no reason to at the time."

"When did they arrive?" Jane leaned back in his chair. He kept one hand on the table and placed his other arm on the armrest.

"They got there before we did," Cho answered.

"How did they find out about the murder?" Jane asked.

"Sara called her manager, Mark Jones, when she and Katharine found the body," Rigsby said leaning forward.

"Who called the police?" Jane looked back and forth between Rigsby and Cho.

"Katharine," the two agents said in unison. Cho sat forward now too.

"Huh." Jane looked down at the table as if he were running something through his head. Rigsby and Cho looked at each other uncomfortably then back at Jane.

"Huh?" Rigsby mimicked with a question in his tone.

"Huh," Jane repeated still looking at the table.

"Hey guys," Van Pelt said as she made her way past the conference table, "What are you doing?"

"Jane doesn't want to interview the agent and manager, so he's grilling us instead," Cho told her with a straight face as he continued staring at Jane.

"O…," Van Pelt's brow scrunched as she sat her desk, "kay…"

Jane stopped staring at the table and sat forward abruptly, causing Cho and Rigsby to sit back. "Were you able to get anything out of Sara before I arrived or after I left?"

"No," Cho crossed his arms. "She was crying the entire time we were with her."

"She did seem pretty inconsolable…" Jane thought for a second. "Did either of you see where she got the hankie she was using?"

"Mark Jones, the manager," Rigsby clarified, "gave it to her."

"He did? Did she look at him at all while she was describing how they came upon the body?"

"No," Rigsby continued. "I mean he looked at her a lot, but she was crying."

"What about the other one, the uh," Jane reached his hand up in the air, "the uh tall guy with the dark hair…" Jane tried to explain him.

"Jeff Haus?" Cho asked crossing his arms in front of his chest. "The agent?"

"Yes, that one." Jane smiled at Cho and brought his hand down to the table. "When I was there he barely looked at Sara let alone faced her, was he like that with you also?"

"Yeah," Cho confirmed. "He was."

Rigsby nodded in agreement.

"And how did the men act toward Katharine?" Jane looked past Cho and Rigsby and toward Van Pelt as he spoke and noticed her going through a laptop.

"Uh," Rigsby gave Jane's question a moment's thought. "Well Mark Jones seemed pretty caught up in Sara's water works. Jeff Haus, actually now that I think about it…" He looked over at Cho hoping for a confirmation.

"Yeah," Cho jumped in. "He kept looking at Katharine, then he'd look away whenever she made eye contact with him," Cho finished.

"Yeah," Rigsby agreed. "He seemed a little irritated with Sara as well."

Jane smiled at them warmly. "You guys did great. Gave me all the information I needed to know. Good work."

Rigsby smiled back, Cho glared.

Jane stood up, walked out of the bullpen and to the kitchen feeling sharply in need of tea. He filled the kettle and set the water to boil while he pulled out his tea cup and saucer and his favorite tea. He stood in front of the kettle and waited for the water to boil, tapping the counter with his fingers while mulling the new information around in his brain.

"Mr. Jane," a soft female voice called just as his water started to boil, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked behind him in the direction of the elevators and saw Katharine Shultz. She had her dark honey blonde hair pulled into a side ponytail and was wearing skinny jeans with brown boots that went just below her knees and purple V-necked, short sleeved shirt.

"Mrs. Schultz," Jane said surprised.

"Ms. Shultz," She lifted her left hand showing that it had no ring on it. "I'm not married. You can call me Katharine," she added almost awkwardly.

Jane smiled as he lifted the pot of boiling water and poured it over his teabag. "What do we owe to this unexpected pleasure, Katharine?"

She moved hesitantly to the counter, stopping near Jane. "How did you know?"

Jane set the kettle down, lifted his saucer and cup and began dunking his tea bag in the hot water. "Know what?"

"Let's not play games Mr. Jane." She made eye contact.

"You didn't like Evelyn, but you respected her." Jane lifted his tea to his mouth and took a tentative sip.

She smiled and looked down at the counter, before returning her gaze to Jane. "That's not what I meant, but you know that already."

"Mm." Jane swallowed. "Yes. I do. You're very perceptive," he pointed at her openly, "articulate. Unlike Sara. It was your description of Evelyn mixed with your knowledge of Yeats and…" he added with a smile, "Poe that clued me in."

"I knew you were testing me," she said excitedly, her eyes glowing. "I mean not right away, but…"

"Why are you here Katharine?"

"I think I was the intended victim." Her smile dropped and her eyes looked down at the counter. "I think I need help."

"Why don't you come with me," Jane said gesturing with an elbow for her to follow him. "We have some things to talk about."

She nodded weakly, but followed him out of the kitchen, past the bullpen and to Lisbon's office.

* * *

Lisbon rested her head in her hands and began rubbing the arch of her nose with the index and middle fingers of both of her hands. "Let me see if I understand this," she looked over at Jane who sat cross legged on her couch, nursing a cup of tea. "Katharine Shultz… is Susan Ryder?"

"No, she's still Katharine and Susan is Susan," Jane told her matter-of-factly with a condescending gaze.

She knew he was messing with her. She and Jane had just spent a good fifteen minutes with Katharine Shultz and Lisbon still wasn't entirely sure she understood what was going on. Admittedly she had had a hard time concentrating. They'd both been quite caught up in one upping each other with semantics and had at one point started muttering poetry… again. Admittedly it probably would've been funny watching Jane squirm if she hadn't been so tired.

After several minutes of them blabbing on she'd zoned out and had started thinking of something else: a small paper bag in her desk drawer containing over the counter sleeping pills that Rigsby had given her. She knew why he'd given them to her, but was too tired to yell at him for inappropriate conduct. Instead she'd glowered and ripped the sack out of his hands, before storming off to her desk. She'd always kept her consumption of any kind of medication to a minimum, even headache medicine. Not that she had anything against medicine, she just didn't want to feel dependent on anything. Still she was awfully tempted to give them a try tonight, besides she kind of liked the idea of Jane losing a bet to Rigsby, it'd serve him right.

She glowered at Jane, trying to remember what they'd said about Katharine being the intended victim. It warranted some attention if someone other than Jane had thought it too. Hell it warranted attention just for Jane thinking it, no matter how glum the prospect of letting him know that was. "Jane," she whined.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk…" Jane started.

She raised a hand warding off his remark. "I swear Jane, on pain of death, if you ask me about my dreams one more time!"

Jane glared at her childishly and raised his free hand in surrender.

She took a deep breath and controlled the urge she had to chuck her stapler at him. "Katharine Shultz wrote Susan Ryder's books?" she asked steering the subject back on topic.

"Well," Jane looked at her and she knew he was weighing the options of contradicting her question, because it wasn't "technically" correct. He must have realized that she in turn was weighing the consequences of rearranging his nose with her desk phone, and conceded. "Yes, she did."

"So what does that have to do with Evelyn O'Reilly's death?" She leaned back in her chair. "Lots of people use ghost writers, and why would that make them want to kill the assistant?"

"Lisbon, weren't you paying any attention?" Jane asked as he uncrossed his legs and slid forward on the couch. "Katharine and I just went over all of this."

Lisbon could feel her head start to throb a little back by her stitches. She'd gotten used to the feeling over the last couple of weeks. Whenever a migraine was coming on it started at the stitches. It had become like an early warning system for her. "Humor me," she said seriously.

Jane took a very noticeable deep breath, his face hardening as he did. He looked at her as though she were about to fall apart. She hated that. After what felt like forever to Lisbon's patience and nerves, he finally spoke. "Someone obviously killed Evelyn because they thought she was Katharine."

"Great. First Katharine's Sara and now Evelyn's Katharine. Why does this sound suspiciously like a lot of paper work?" Lisbon's hands found their way to her thighs, where she began rubbing soothing strokes over the tight muscles. "So who do you think did it?" she lifted one of her hands to the back of her head and touched her stitches lightly.

"I don't know," Jane admitted as he sat his tea cup and saucer on the table in front of the couch. "I'm working on it." He was examining the floor while in deep thought.

She smirked. "The mighty Jane as clueless as the rest of us… never thought I'd see the day." Her face quickly dropped as her fingers found the source of her headache and winced. "I can't wait to get these stupid stitches out, they itch," she told Jane trying to cover up the fact that she was in pain.

Jane looked up from the floor and toward her quickly, then stood up from the couch and made his way to her desk stopping in front of it. "Lisbon, give me your hand." His voice was strong, but not unkind.

She looked up shocked to see his hand outstretched. Her hand in turn dropped from her head, and she swallowed nervously. It was hard for her to deny Jane anything when he was like this. Still she could feel herself pushing into the back of her chair and away from him, her head shaking her response of 'no' lightly. "I told you already," she said quietly, "I'm not going to let you hypnotize me, not unless…"

Jane walked around her desk as she spoke. "I'm not going to hypnotize you Lisbon." He reached out and took her hand, causing her to turn toward him in her chair as he squatted in front of her. He looked down at her hand, unbuttoned her cuff, folded it back and rubbed her pulse point for a moment, before finding the soft fleshy spot between her thumb and index finger.

"What are you doing?" she asked nervously. He was so close, too close, and she was too tired for this.

He looked up into her eyes. "You won't let me help you sleep, fine, but you're in pain. It's clear as day that you have a migraine coming on, and no wonder from your lack of sleep." The irritation in his voice was clear. "But despite your stubbornness, I'm not going to just sit by and watch you suffer."

Lisbon felt suddenly overwhelmed by Jane's words. She knew he cared, he'd proven that much of late, but to hear him say so and with such intensity brought on a well of emotion. She bit her bottom lip in attempt to distract herself from the tears threatening to spill over.

"There's a pressure point right here." He lifted her hand by the soft spot between her thumb and finger with his thumb and index finger and showed it to her. "I can get rid of your headache, but this is going to hurt a little bit." His tone was quiet and soothing.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her head hurt badly and she barely managed to nod before Jane was slowly and forcefully applying pressure to her hand. It hurt… a lot. She was about to pull her hand away, when she unexpectedly and gratefully felt the ache in her head lessening, lessening, and then vanishing all together. Her eyes began to clear. She hadn't even noticed that they'd blurred.

"That's amazing," she said as a tear spilled down her cheek, not from emotion but from the release of pressure in her head. "Thank you."

Jane reached up and wiped the tear from her cheek causing a chill to run over her entire body. She leaned into his hand and reached up instinctively, grabbing his wrist. They made eye contact and Lisbon suddenly felt her heart racing. She couldn't be sure, because he removed his hand from her gasp too quickly, but she thought that his pulse had sped up as well. She watched as he pulled his gaze from hers, stood up and walked back around her desk before turning back to face her.

She felt bereft at the loss of contact and swayed forward awkwardly in her seat before she pulled herself together.

"When are you getting your stitches out?" Jane asked her as he took the seat across from her.

She blinked several times before swiveling her chair back towards him. "Um…" she swallowed, "tomorrow. I'm going in before work."

"I'll take you." It wasn't a question, or a request-he was telling her. "What time should I pick you up?"

She shook her head at him. "My appointment is at 9 am."

"Okay, I'll be at the hotel at 8 then," he said, and she couldn't help but note that he wasn't looking at her.

She began to nod, when she remembered why that wouldn't work. "Oh, I won't be there," she told him.

Jane looked up at her and she knew he was about to argue with her about letting him pick her up. She raised a hand to stop his rant and spoke quickly. "I'm back in my apartment."

She saw his face drop briefly. A knock sounded at her door followed by Van Pelt letting herself into her office.

Van Pelt looked nervously between her and Jane before the two of them could pull their eye contact off of one another and put it on her. "Is this a bad time?" she asked.

Lisbon shook her head. "No, what's up Grace?"

"I haven't been able to open her encoded file yet, but she had some pretty threatening e-mails that she'd deleted."

"What kind of threatening emails?" Lisbon asked as she re-buttoned her cuff.

"I know who you are, and if you don't give me what I want, you'll regret it. Etc.," Van Pelt paraphrased.

Lisbon sat forward in her chair and placed her hands on her desk clasping them together. "Do you know who the emails are from?"

"Well, I couldn't trace them back to any individual, but they were definitely sent from Haus' office," Van Pelt told them.

Lisbon looked over at Jane wanting to see his reaction to all of this, and felt suddenly confused again when she did. He was smiling.

"Grace, does anyone know that you have Evelyn's computer?" he asked.

She shook her head.

Jane's smile got bigger. "Good. Make sure it stays that way, would you?"

Van Pelt nodded, her brow scrunched.

"Jane," Lisbon could hide the exasperation in her tone. "What is it?"

Jane returned his gaze to her. "Can you bring Sara, Mark, and Jeff in tomorrow, right after I bring you back from your doctor's appointment?"

Lisbon hadn't missed Jane's less than subtle way of throwing into the conversation that he'd be taking her to and from the hospital, but ignored it. "I thought you didn't want to talk to them again?"

"I changed my mind," he said almost excitedly.

"Okay," Lisbon blinked in rapid succession then looked down at her desk. "I guess." She needed to remember that trying to figure Jane out was never a good idea.

"Great," Jane said jumping out of his chair before rushing to the bullpen.

Van Pelt barely stepped out of his way before he exited. She turned back to Lisbon. "What was that about?" she asked.

Lisbon turned back to her computer and the work she'd been doing before Jane and Katharine had come into her office. "You guess is as good as mine."

"I doubt that," Van Pelt said with a smile in her tone before leaving the office.

* * *

Lisbon was more than exhausted by the time she made it home at around 8pm that night. She took a long shower, letting her skin turn lobster red before finally pulling herself from the comforting stream. She hadn't had time to set up her room yet, which was fine as far as she was concerned. She wasn't sure she was ready to sleep in there yet, especially not while the red smiley face still covered the wall.

She put on a jersey and made her way down to her couch where she wrapped up in a blanket. She lay down resting her head on a couple of couch cushions, her gun positioned soothingly under them. It suddenly occurred to her that she'd need to buy more pillows along with a mattress and sheets.

Her eyes felt heavy, but her mind was active. The bag of sleeping pills sat on the coffee table and she had to admit that she'd been tempted to take them all the way home. It wasn't until she'd stepped over the threshold, dead bolting the lock behind her, that she knew she wouldn't be able to will herself to take them. She could see the scene of that night as clear as if it had happened yesterday. The candles, the rose pedals, the body, Jane… The idea of being completely unconscious, of not being able to wake up scared her. She didn't want to be on drugs. It made her vulnerable.

She nuzzled down her blankets even more and closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't have any nightmares tonight. Hoping that she wouldn't see what she was quickly realizing was her biggest fear, intensified even more by the fact that it had totally precedence in reality. She focused on her breathing, counted one while breathing in and two while breathing out, and repeated. She decided that using Jane's techniques was not tantamount to him actually hypnotizing her and it wasn't like she was going to tell her she'd done it. _One in, two out, one in two out..._ Then sleep took her.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait everyone. Reviews are certainly appreciated.  
**


	18. No! I don't know Maybe Yes Possibly

18 No! I don't know. Maybe. Yes. Possibly.

Jane sat quietly in his car outside of Lisbon's apartment at 7:15 am. He was used to sleepless nights, but he wasn't used to Lisbon's wellbeing causing them. _Blasted woman._ He knew she probably spent a sleepless night too; as a matter of fact she was probably puttering around her apartment right now, cleaning or organizing her things for the umpteenth time. He slid down in his seat a little more. He was determined not to knock until eight. He closed his eyes hoping to give them a little rest before the time came.

His mind wandered unbidden back to when he was in her office yesterday. Her eyes had started to glaze over when he and Katharine had been talking to her. After Katharine had left, he knew almost immediately that she had a migraine coming on. She'd started rubbing the bridge of her nose, was having a hard time controlling her anger, and concentrating, and on top of all of that, she'd winced. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat recalling the sharp hiss that had left her mouth when she'd touched her stitches.

In all the time he'd known her she'd never once alluded to being in pain, even when she was really suffering. She was always the kind to stub her toe and deny adamantly that it hurt. If she winced, it was because she was in a lot of pain. She'd try to cover her mistake by saying that her stitches itched, but he knew better. That's why he'd been so forceful with her, had taken control and helped her with her headache.

The moment the tear had escaped the corner of her eye, he knew she felt better. He could see it in her eyes. He'd reached up mindlessly and wiped it away. A small smile played at his lips as he recalled the way she'd leaned into his palm and grabbed his hand. He rubbed his thumb over the palm of his hand recalling the feel of her skin. It had been so soft. That was when he'd panicked. He pulled his hand away, stood and quickly put her desk between them.

His eyes opened and he looked up at her apartment before gazing back down at the clock on his dash. It had only been five minutes. He fidgeted uncomfortably before closing his eyes again. Why had he done it? Why had he touched her like that, so intimately? And why had her response to his touch sent butterflies to his stomach?

Ever since Red John's attack he'd been hyper aware of her. He thought he'd been before the attack, but how he'd felt then was nothing in comparison. He figured it was because they'd faced death and had come out, physically if nothing else, unscathed.

He felt guilty. Every time he saw her—circles under her eyes, yawning into a coffee cup, sad, and concerned expressions all for him. He wished he could take it all away, the pain, the fear—but she hated it when he tried to protect her. She hated feeling like she was burdening him when she was doing nothing for him. He wished she knew how wrong that assumption was. How she buoyed him up in his darkest moments, how he fed off her optimism every time they came so close to catching Red John only to come away empty-handed.

At that thought another memory came to mind. When they'd found Jared Renfrew murdered by Red John in a sleazy motel in Tijuana, Lisbon had touched his arm lightly with two fingers and had promised that they'd get him next time. He'd looked in her eyes and saw the hurt she felt for him and surprisingly the hope she had for him. He recalled the sincerity in her voice and he remembered his lips quirking up just a little at her optimism. He had no reason to smile, he supposed he hadn't really, but he couldn't help but to feel encouraged. Jane could feel his lips quirking up again. Maybe he'd tell her that.

He wriggled in his seat again, then jumped abruptly when his phone rang. He rubbed his eyes before picking it up. "Hello," his voice was scratchy.

"Jane," Lisbon's voice said. "What are you doing?"

He leaned back in his seat again. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap and get up here already," she ordered. "You've been sitting out there for the last hour."

"You knew I was here and just let me stay in my car?" Jane asked in mock offense.

"If you want to sit in your car for two hours, who am I to stop you?" Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. "I've got breakfast ready so if you want it while it's hot you'd better get movin'," she ordered.

"Lisbon, you made me breakfast?" Jane asked with a smile.

The line went quiet for a moment. "No," she said too quickly for Jane to believe her, "no, I just… I made breakfast for myself and thought you might want to join me."

"You did," Jane said excitedly, "you made me breakfast. You shouldn't…" his sentence was abruptly cut off by the line going dead. He closed his phone smiling from ear to ear.

* * *

Lisbon was irritated. She hadn't slept at all well last night. Sure Jane's breathing exercise had helped her fall asleep but it hadn't done a thing about her nightmares. Then Jane, the very source of her frustrations and nightmares, had had the nerve to show up at her house two hours before he was supposed to.

She peeked at him out her window a couple of times. His eyes were closed and he was wiggling uncomfortably in his front seat. She was glad he was uncomfortable, as far as she was concerned he deserved it. Still she kept thinking about him and wondering if she should invite him in.

She started rearranging her apartment in an attempt to distract herself, and it had worked for a good hour. At seven she started making breakfast and before she realized what she'd done she'd made way more than she'd ever be able to eat. It had only made sense to invite him up, besides she didn't like the idea of him out there…thinking. It made her skin crawl just imagining what kind of crazy ideas his mind might be coming up with. At least if he was inside eating and talking with her, she could pretend that his mind was too occupied for scheming.

Now she sat in the passenger seat of his car, arms crossed over her chest, staring out the window while Jane went on about every topic he knew she couldn't care less about or couldn't stand. Gardening, the time he'd conned so and so, how easily it had been to manipulate Rigsby into believing he had melanoma on his forehead… WWF wrestling. _Why? _She was just glad the hospital was close.

"Jane! WWF wrestling, seriously?" She broke in unable to take his rambling anymore.

Jane tapped his right hand fingers on his steering wheel. "Well if you don't want to talk about that…"

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" she said whipping her head in his direction. "You think if you bore me to tears with your nonsense that I'll talk. Do you think I was born yesterday? That I met you for the first time ten minutes ago?"

She felt a sudden urge to punch him in the nose when she noticed a cocky smirk covering his face.

"Ooo, I really hate you right now," she seethed.

"Lisbon," he was doing a horrible job of looking offended, "what a thing to say to the person driving you to the hospital."

"Yeah, well I made you breakfast so consider us even." She could feel her hands go into tight fists and her seatbelt felt suddenly very restricting.

"Oh, so now you admit to making me breakfast?" Jane turned into the hospital and pulled into the parking lot taking a spot right in front of the entrance.

Lisbon took a deep breath and turned in her seat to face Jane. "Red John almost killed me Jane." She bit back the disgust she felt for herself as she watched his face drop and continued. He needed to know she was serious. "He killed a friend of yours, and here we are having the same old tired discussion. Nothing's changed. We are back in the same damn routine as always. Hell, we haven't even discussed the fact that we nearly kissed that night."

Jane's face looked sadder than she'd ever seen it. "Lisbon…" he started.

She couldn't handle whatever he was about to say and cut him off. "I don't want to hear it Jane. Catching Red John is important to me too, it's important to Cho, and Rigsby and Van Pelt. You are not a lone wolf and as long as you keep acting like you are, you're playing right into his hands. He wants you to be miserable…" Her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed. "As long as you block us out, you're giving him exactly what he wants, and you'll never catch him."

She quickly undid her seatbelt and threw it off, it clinked against the window as she then shoved her door open and got out. She saw Jane getting out and turned to him. "Stay here," she demanded her voice full of spit. "I don't you need your help." She slammed the door in emphasis.

"Teresa," he called after her, but she ignored him and kept going.

* * *

As soon as she was inside, she immediately felt remorse tugging at her heart strings. Those words had been playing in her mind for days now. She knew he'd needed to hear them, but she could've chosen a more tactful way of putting it. Then again Jane hardly ever responded to tact. The doctor had removed her stitches and had given her a clean bill health in less than a half an hour and now she was nervously making her way back out to Jane's car.

Now that she'd verbalized her irritation she was desperately hoping he'd choose to take it for what it was. She was feeling suddenly very cowardly and the last thing she wanted to do was talk about it. She knew that was ridiculous, she'd brought it up because she'd wanted to talk about it, _right?_ Still, she couldn't take any more emotion at the moment. She walked up to the glass door placing her hand on the metal bar and looked outside. Jane was leaning against his car door and looking at the pavement. She gulped and started to push on the door.

"Excuse me," a voice said. "Uh," she didn't realize it was for her right away. "Teresa, right?"

Her eyes pulled away from Jane, she stopped moving and turned to the man calling her. He was an EMT. "Yeah, do I…" she could feel herself squinting a little. He definitely looked familiar.

He moved a duffle bag from one hand to the other then nervously reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He smiled, "Right, we weren't properly introduced." He reached out a hand for hers which she took. "My name's Ryan Jones, I was one of the EMT's called to your house."

It all came rushing back to her. "Yes, of course." She shook her head a little as they released hands. "Sorry, out of context. All though you were wearing this same outfit last time I saw you."

"Well," he smiled shyly. "Work clothes… I'm glad to see you're doing well."

She smiled in return. "Thank you. I'm surprised you remembered me."

"Are you kidding? Do you think EMT's often get called to take care of gorgeous women in little cocktail dresses?"

Lisbon could feel her face flush and looked nervously at her feet.

He continued. "My partner and I were bragging about you to our colleagues for days. It's nice to see our judgment of your looks was spot on."

She looked up at him again, feeling very self-conscious. Until he'd started going on about her looks, she hadn't noticed how handsome he was. He was tall, with a long, lean but strong build, had brown hair and chocolate colored eyes, and dimples when he smiled. "Uh…" she stuttered. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." He sounded a little cocky, but it was cute. "Steve's gonna be so mad when I tell him I saw you today."

Her brows went up and her hands sunk into her front jean pockets. "Steve?"

"Yeah, my partner." He lifted his bag over his shoulder. "Well," he said sounding suddenly very self-conscious himself. "I'm glad to see you're doing well. Oh," he said suddenly, "how's your boyfriend?"

Lisbon could feel the look of confusion that was currently crossing her face. "Boyfriend?"

"I thought he was in shock, he obviously had a big scare. He was really worried about you," Ryan told her seriously.

She had no idea what he was talking about. "I, I don't have a boyfriend…"

She watched his brow furrow. "The blonde guy…" he asked obviously confused.

"Jane?" she was sure her eyes were the size of saucers after that. "Oh, no no. He's not my boyfriend, he's a," _a colleague, a friend, a pain in my ass_, "a work colleague."

He smiled again. "Wow," he smiled. "Really? I could have sworn, I mean the way he was looking at you and touching you…"

"No, just a friend and he's fine. Thanks for asking." They smiled awkwardly for a moment. "It was good seeing you."

"You too," he told her.

Lisbon turned back to the door pushed it open and made her way back toward Jane. He stood tall when he saw her coming, and she smiled at him weakly.

"Wait, Teresa," she heard Ryan call from behind her.

She stopped and turned back to him. He was in front of her in three steps.

"This might seem a little unorthodox, but now that I know your single I'd have to be a complete moron if I didn't ask you out on a date."

She felt her mouth form an O shape and chuckled a little uncomfortably. "You know I…" what should she say? What did she want to say? It'd been awhile since she'd been in this kind of situation. "I just got out of a relationship and I'm not sure…"

He looked down at his shirt as he pulled a card out of his front shirt pocket. "I understand," he told her making eye contact once he removed his card. "But here's my number, for when you are… ready that is."

She tried very unsuccessfully to restrain her smile and took his card. "Thanks."

He started backing toward the door. "Hopefully sooner rather than later," he told her with a playful wink, then turned and went back into the building.

She looked down at the business card he'd handed her and could feel her hips twisting back and forth just a little before she shoved it into her back pocket. She didn't have any intention of calling him, but being hit on by a hot EMT was apparently very cathartic and uplifting. She felt better than she had in days. Maybe today wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

* * *

"Just exactly what are you insinuating!" Mark Jones stood up from the couch forcefully and pointed at Jane.

Jane stayed leaning against the side of Lisbon's desk. "I'm not insinuating anything. You and Ms. Ryder here," Jane pointed between the two who had been seated next to each other before Mark had jumped up, "are having an affair."

"Jane," Lisbon warned from her desk chair.

"What?" Jane looked at her over his shoulder. "It was a statement of fact, not an insinuation."

"I hope you have money saved up, because once my lawyers get through with you, you'll be unhireable." Mark Jones had slid forward on the couch.

"Unhireable? That isn't even a word," Jane spat. Mark was off the couch and advancing toward Jane quickly. Jane jumped off the desk and backed toward the door behind the coatrack as Lisbon jumped out of her seat and placed herself between the two men.

"Mr. Jones," she placed her hand on his chest. "Take a seat." She pointed back at the couch. "Now!"

Jeff Haus who was sitting in the chair closest to the door at Lisbon's table stood up. "Sit down Mark, you have no case and you know it. Everyone knows you two are having an affair."

Jane shrugged childishly as the man glared and then reluctantly returned to his seat. Jane had played this meeting out in his head several times and admittedly it hadn't gone like this in any of his scenarios. In fact he'd had no reason to mention the affair, but when Jeff Haus, Sara Ryder, Mark Jones and Katharine had shown up, he'd changed his mind.

No doubt Mark Jones had a naive wife at home and it irked him that he was sneaking around behind her back with a woman who could barely form a sentence. Alright, she wasn't that bad, but Jane had been grumpy ever since Lisbon had come out of the hospital and that EMT had asked her out. She hadn't said anything about it to him, but he knew. Their body language throughout her conversation with the EMT had given it all away. He couldn't believe it when Lisbon had swiveled her hips. How could she go so easily from yelling at him to flirting with some guy she'd just met? It was insulting. Didn't she even care about what she had said to him?

Lisbon turned away from the group of people in her office, scowl firmly set in place and made eye contact with him. "Stop it," she mouthed. Then quietly, "Get on with it." She sat back down at her desk.

He looked at her intently, but decided to just do what she asked. "Agent Van Pelt hacked into Evelyn's e-mails and found several threatening messages. Do any of you know what that's about?" Jane watched each of their reactions carefully.

"Threatening e-mails?" Katharine asked sincerely curious. "What did they say?"

Lisbon opened a file, pulled out a sheet of paper and slid it over her desk to Katharine who sat across from her. She read what was on the sheet then handed it back to Sara and Mark. It contained a few of the threatening messages that Jane had handpicked.

After Jeff had a chance to look at it he spoke. "What did they want?" he asked.

"We were hoping you could tell us?" Lisbon leaned forward and clasped her hands on her desk.

"Well," Katharine said quietly. She looked up nervously. "She was working on something on her laptop. I don't know what it was, I tried to sneak a peek at it once, but she had it password encoded."

"Ms. Shultz, why didn't you tell us about this before," Lisbon asked harshly.

"I'm sorry," she fidgeted in her chair. "I couldn't see that it was relevant until now. It's at her apartment."

Van Pelt walked by Lisbon's open office door. "Agent Van Pelt," Lisbon called her then stood up and stepped around her desk.

Van Pelt took a step back and looked in the office. "Boss?"

"Get a warrant for Evelyn's apartment," she told her.

"Sure thing," Van Pelt said.

"How long will that take?" Sara asked nervously.

Jane had seen enough. "Morning. By this time tomorrow, I'd be willing to bet that we will know exactly why Evelyn was killed. After that it should be fairly easy to find the killer." He tried to sound as positive as possible while he spoke.

Lisbon nodded. "You're right," she said looking at Jane. "Once we have motive, it'll definitely narrow things down." She looked back at the group. "You can all go now. We'll be in touch."

They got up and left the office, Katharine at the tail. She winked at Jane as she walked by, and he smiled kindly in turn. Then he watched intently as the group made their way to the elevator. Lisbon pretended to busy herself with things on her desk while Jane kept as discrete an eye on them as he could.

"Are they gone?" she asked Jane being careful not to look up from her desk.

"Not yet," he whispered even though the group was out of earshot. He waited for them to step inside the elevator. "Okay."

He turned to the door with Lisbon following closely behind.

Van Pelt sat up straight in her desk as they entered the bullpen. "Did they buy it?"

Lisbon smiled. "Yeah, I think so. Cho, Grace, I want you to head over to Evelyn's apartment as soon as possible. I don't think they'll try anything until it's dark, but better safe than sorry."

"Right." Cho stood up from his desk.

"You're in a good mood today Boss," Rigsby said cheekily while giving Cho a cocky grin. "Did you finally get some sleep last night?"

Lisbon's hands went to her hips and she glared. "I…"

"Nope, she didn't." Jane jumped in before she could say anything while making his way to his sofa. "She's in a good mood because she got hit on at the hospital this morning."

Jane couldn't help but smile at the immediate flush on her cheeks when he outed her.

"I did not!" she said uncomfortably.

Jane plopped down on his couch. "Did too."

"Jane, how do you… you know what—never mind." She took one step toward him. "I am in a good mood, and I'm not going to let you ruin it." At that she turned from him, shoulders squared and walked purposefully back to her office.

* * *

Lisbon sat at her desk working her way through a small pile of paper work she wanted to get done before her and Rigsby went to relieve Cho and Van Pelt. She'd made pretty decent progress; gotten much more done today than yesterday. She was still working on a small high and because of this realized a couple of things. First that she obviously worked better when she was happy, that was a no brainer, and second that she'd been a lot sadder lately than she'd realized she'd been. She knew she tended to get grumpy when she was tired, but she'd been sad and hadn't recognized that she was.

She pushed a file she'd just finished to the top of her desk and grabbed the one below it. She knew she was going to have to figure out what it was exactly that had been upsetting her eventually, but she was in too good of a mood to let it weigh her down right now. She opened the new file and started going through it when her cell phone rang. She reached down and grabbed it, answering it without looking at who was calling.

"Lisbon," she identified herself.

"Hey Lisbon," Jane's sleepy voice said.

She sat up straight in her chair and looked out into the bullpen towards Jane's couch. He was sprawled across it with his head on the armrest, his right arm across his chest and his left holding his phone.

"Jane? Why are you calling me? Couldn't you just come into my office?" she asked still looking at him.

"Meh." His shoulders shrugged a little. "This seemed safer."

Her stomach flipped. "What did you do?" she demanded.

"Nothing woman," he said through a stifled yawn, "relax."

"Jane!"

"Honestly, I didn't do anything." Silence filled the air between them.

"Okay…" she finally mustered, "well I'm actually working, crazy I know, so unless you have a point," she edged looking back down at her paper work.

"Are you going to go out with tall, dark and handsome?" he asked casually.

Her head whipped up and she looked across the bullpen again, her eyebrows raised. "What? No! I don't know, maybe. Yes. Possibly."

"No. I don't know. Maybe. Yes. Possibly?" he repeated mockingly. "Wow, I think you're almost as pathetic as I am."

Her breath hitched in her throat and she saw red. "I am not!"

"Okay, whatever," Jane said brushing her sudden fury aside. "It's almost seven, shouldn't we be relieving Van Pelt and Cho about now."

Fury forgotten, Lisbon pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at the clock on it. It read: 6:58 pm. She glanced outside and while she could now see that it was darker she hadn't realized how quickly the time had gone.

"Lisbon?" Jane's voice came through the line.

She brought the phone back to her ear and watched as Jane sat up on his couch and looked back at her.

"Sorry, I'm here." She stood up and began straightening some things on her desk.

"So are we going?" he asked.

"I thought you didn't want to come. You hate stakeouts." She turned and grabbed her jacket off the coatrack and started putting it on.

She heard shuffling sounds on Jane's end of the phone. "I have a vested interest in this one. I have to see it through to the end," his voice echoed.

"A vested interest… right." She couldn't help but picture Katharine in her mind.

She turned around just as Jane stepped into her office. The both looked at each other, smiled and hung up. Then she rolled her eyes and put her phone in her front jean pocket.

"Okay, but if you start getting cranky, I'm sending you home," she threatened. "Where's Rigsby?" She pulled her hair out from the inside of her jacket.

"He went to get snacks," Jane told her with an amused smirk as he shoved his cell phone into his vest pocket.

"Well he'd better get me a coke," she muttered as she walked out of her office. She stopped a few feet away and looked back over her shoulder at Jane. "You coming?"

His smile dropped a little, he nodded, then followed her to the elevator.

* * *

**I'm on fall break so I've made it my goal to get some extra chapters out this week. Especially because it took me two weeks for the last one. Hope you like it.  
**


	19. A Nice Long Hot Shower

**Hey everyone. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I got caught up in midterms and was a little overwhelmed. They're over now. Phew! Hope you enjoy!**

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19 A Nice Long Hot Shower

Jane sat in the front passenger seat of the maroon van that the team often used during cases. Lisbon was leaning against the window of the driver's seat watching Evelyn O'Reilly's house intently and Rigsby was spread across the seat directly behind them with his legs up and earphones in, humming to himself. Jane's arm rested on the center armrest and his hand hung off the edge and onto the plastic lid of a fountain drink Rigsby had gotten for Lisbon. He thrummed it lightly with his fingers—once, twice, three times. Jane knew the sound was irritating her and he was glad. It was four-thirty in the morning and they hadn't said anything in a couple of hours.

Of course Jane acknowledged that it was his fault that they weren't talking. He'd started galling her again and she'd shut off after telling him to shut up. He thrummed his fingers into the plastic again. She turned her head in his direction head still against the window and glared at him. He kept his eyes ahead and tapped the lid once more. Lisbon reached over and grabbed her cup, Jane smiled and took that opportunity to grab her wrist before she could pull it and the cup away.

"Jane," she warned.

He ignored her tone and turned it to his advantage. "Oh, so you're talking to me again?" He ran his thumb over the top of her hand and felt her shiver slightly at his touch. He was surprised that she hadn't pulled away yet.

"You know what," she said quietly. "I am too tired to argue with you." She turned her head away from him, then shocked him when she let go of her cup and let it drop with a sloshing sound, but continued to let him hold her wrist.

Jane felt a pang deep in his gut. Yes, she was stubborn, but so was he. It was one of the reasons they worked so well together. That and they compromised fairly well also. He couldn't work with someone who would demand he do exactly what he was told all the time, no—that'd never work, but he couldn't work with a push over either. As far as he was concerned Lisbon was the perfect amount of push and pull for him. Given that, it frustrated him to no end that they both seemed to be at a complete impasse right now.

He moved his arm slightly to the right to make room for hers on the armrest then pulled her wrist until he'd guided her arm next to his. She didn't fight, just let him do it. Her hand was now dangling off the armrest just as his was. He let go of her wrist and turned his hand so it was palm side up before slipping it under her hand. The heels of their palms touched and their fingers bent, the tips of hers reaching as far as mid-knuckle on his and the tips of his fingers bent over the tips of hers.

He felt a chill go up his spine this time and glanced over at her. Her face was blank as she stared out the front window, giving zero sign that she even recognized what he was doing. He was surprised that she was allowing this with Rigsby sitting so close.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he looked away from her and out the window. "I'm sorry that you can't sleep and I'm sorry that I can't help you and I am sorry that I'm responsible for it."

Her hand twitched and he worried she'd pull away. This had caught her attention. He knew it would. It wasn't like he apologized all that often. She sat up and away from the window looking at him as he did. He wanted to look at her again, but felt his eyes glued on the window, not even what was outside of the window, but the glass itself. He focused on a few water marks, letting everything beyond them go fuzzy.

He could feel her gaze boring into him. "Wow," she finally said.

He hadn't been sure how she'd react and this remark was doing nothing to help him figure it out. He peeked at her through the corner of his eye.

Her face had gone from passive to irate in seconds. "You manipulative bastard," she said sternly before trying to rip her hand from his.

He clasped her hand firmly in his as he turned to her, brows furrowed. "Excuse me?" he shot back.

"I can't believe that you'd stoop so low as manipulation to try and get me to talk." She tried to pull her hand away again, but he held tight. "I mean, really Jane, you didn't actually think that'd work on me."

"I wasn't trying to manipulate you," he snapped. "I meant every word. When did you become so cynical?"

"They day I started working with you," she seethed as she tried to pull her hand away again. He knew she didn't really mean that—she was just really angry.

Out of the corner of his eye Jane saw Rigsby changing positions uncomfortably in the back. He couldn't care less. "Okay, I've had about enough of this Lisbon."

She looked away from their hands, stopped trying to pull hers free and looked him in the eye. Jane could see she was fighting an internal struggle. She was making a decision. She was afraid. "Well what are you going to do about it Jane?"

"I hate fighting with you," he placated, his feistiness dropping and dragging hers down with it.

She shook her head. "Avoid the topic." She looked at her lap, then out the window. "Gosh that's something new and refreshing," she said, but there was no bite in her words, only dejection.

Jane reached over with his other hand and sandwiched her hand between his. "Lisbon, look at me."

He watched as she fought to bring her eyes over to his again. She didn't want to look at him, but she didn't want him to think she was that upset either. He hated that. She never pretended with him, but she was starting to shut off and he knew he had to stop it. She was at the top of a very short list of people he actually cared about and the last thing he wanted to do was alienate her.

Suddenly he couldn't even recall why he'd been so stubbornly refusing to talk to her about what had happened the night Red John had killed Erica. He knew exactly why she wasn't talking to him—she wanted an open line of communication between them. He looked into her green eyes and could see so much. Her affection, her worry, her exhaustion. How could he let this continue when he could help?

He took a deep breath in, then spoke as he exhaled. "I thought Erica was you. I know you already know that." He shook his head and looked down feeling unexpectedly ashamed.

"Yes," she said quietly. Her eyes widened just a little as she waited for him to continue.

He felt ill and knew if he was going to tell her, he was going to have to do it quickly. "The moment I figured out that she wasn't you, I knew it was her and I didn't care. All I could think was that it wasn't you and that I was glad." He looked up again.

"Jane, you can't…"

He raised a hand to stop her from speaking. "Please, let me finish."

She nodded her head lightly and he could see her swallow as she leaned against the armrest to get closer to him.

"When Erica took me outside at the party, she told me she'd been working for Red John, he'd been coercing and blackmailing her."

Her expression dropped but it didn't even take her a second to pull it together. "Jane!" Lisbon shouted. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

Jane could see Rigsby sit up in his seat and pull out one of his earphones. They had an audience now and he didn't care.

"Calm down, Teresa," Jane said quietly.

She leaned away from him abruptly and as far away as she could get while he still held her hand. "Calm down? Did you really just say that to me?" She pointed her finger from her free hand at him. "You should have told me," she reprimanded.

"What's going on?" Rigsby asked nervously. Jane and Lisbon both ignored him.

"It was irrelevant," Jane told her. He held to her hand like it was a life line, thinking that the moment she pulled it away there'd be no explaining. He could tell that she was just angry enough to have forgotten momentarily that he was holding it and he was grateful for that.

"No," she yelled at him. "Don't give me that!"

"Teresa," he said coolly, "I would be happy to tell you every word of the conversation later, if you'd like, but I am perfectly sincere when I tell you that she gave me nothing relevant to catching Red John."

"Then why tell me now?" she probed, her free hand waved her point emphatically. "If it's not relevant then why…"

"She told me she loved me," Jane's words stopped her sentence cold.

"Damn," exclaimed Rigsby from the back.

"What?" Lisbon choked out.

"She died because of me, Teresa." He bent his head down just a little to better look her in the eye. "That's why I didn't want to tell you. She died trying to protect me and all I could think was how relieved I was that it wasn't you. She's done bad things, horrible things, but she deserved more than the glancing afterthought I gave her." He swallowed. "I didn't tell you because I was ashamed."

Silence filled the van as both Lisbon and Rigsby stared at Jane transfixed. Without any expectation that it would, Jane felt Lisbon's hand tighten its grip on his hand. The sensation nearly brought tears to his eyes, but even more unexpectedly than that was the sensation enveloping him that made him feel as though a huge weight had just been lifted.

"Uh, boss." Rigsby spoke again. "Sorry to break this up, but I think we have ourselves a job to do."

Lisbon reluctantly pulled her eyes away from Jane and looked back at Rigsby then followed his gaze back toward the front of the van and in the direction of Evelyn's house. A person in a hood had just opened Evelyn's front door and was sneaking inside.

"Right," she said quietly. Jane could hear that she was trying to swallow a lump. "Rigs, you take the back door." Rigsby nodded and jumped out of the van. She looked over at Jane. "Wait here," she said quietly, then she pulled her hand away from his and was out the door.

Jane thought about what he'd just admitted to Lisbon… and Rigsby and was surprised that he didn't care. He watched as Lisbon stopped at the slightly ajar front door. She waited a moment, then reached up to her ear. Jane knew she was checking to see if Rigsby was in position. Then she went into the house.

Jane had a lot to think about, but he was abruptly caught off guard when he noticed the headlights of a car across the street from Evelyn's house turn on. Jane squinted trying to get a better look. He wasn't sure what motivated him after that, but he lifted himself quickly out of his seat and into the driver's seat, just as the car started moving. He turned the van on, leaving the headlights off and waited a moment for the car to pick up speed then quickly turned the van across the street to block the road. Tires screeching to a halt on pavement and the smell of burning breaks filled the air right before the vehicle slid into the side of the van with a small thud.

Adrenaline was racing through him as he jumped out of the vehicle and made his way around to the driver's side of the car that had crashed into him. He reached it and looked in. The first thing he saw was white knuckles clutching the steering wheel, followed by shaking arms and when he was close enough he saw a quivering body. Sara Ryder looked up at him through teary eyes. The moment she saw him the fear that had been present on her face was replaced with a look of loathing. She started to get out of the vehicle.

"Jane!" Lisbon's voice called.

Jane looked towards the house to see Rigsby guiding Mark Jones out of the house and Lisbon leading the way.

"Lisbon!" Jane said excitedly. "Did you see that?" He felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

"I did," she said sweetly holding back a smile and put on her tough face, as she moved quickly toward the cars.

He turned to look back at Sara just as she hauled off and punched him in the nose.

"Ouch," Jane yelped, "she hit me!"

Lisbon ran forward, grabbed the woman and pushed her into the side of the vehicle. Jane bent over and placed his hand on his nose.

"Sara Ryder, you're under arrest for conspiring to commit murder!" Lisbon snarled.

Jane looked up through teary eyes. "And assault," he said whining.

"And assault," Lisbon said grinning at Jane.

Lisbon pulled her away from the vehicle then stopped and looked at Jane.

"Good job, Jane," she said, and Jane couldn't help but notice the double meaning in her words. He let go of his nose and wiggled it a little as he watched Lisbon guide Sara around the car and to the van. He felt himself stand tall and despite the pain he felt in his nose he smiled.

* * *

Lisbon moved to the coffee pot in the middle of the CBI kitchen with a mug in hand. Everything Jane had guessed about the case had been spot on. Sara and Mark and conspired to kill Evelyn thinking she was Katharine. They knew that the last manuscript for the series was done and they wanted all the proceeds for themselves. Jeff Haus had let it slip that she was a lot closer to them they'd known and they made the false assumption that it was Evelyn. They'd started by sending threatening e-mails. They assumed she was lying when she told them she didn't have the manuscript and had poisoned her thinking they'd be able to get to the laptop before anyone else. What they hadn't anticipated was Katharine showing up and calling the police before they'd had the opportunity to take it. They were none too thrilled upon discovering that Katharine was the real writer and Evelyn had really just been an assistant.

Lisbon grabbed the coffee pot and poured the warm dark liquid slowly into her cup and breathed in the vapors as they wafted from the mug. She was relieved the case was over, and that it was the weekend. She needed a couple of days to relax and to get her apartment in order. She sat the coffee pot back down, added cream and sugar to her drink and stirred. She slowly brought it to her mouth and took a sip, then sighed deeply. She still had a lot of paper work to do.

She took her coffee and headed toward her office. She stopped abruptly at her door when she heard Jane talking to someone by the elevator. She glanced over and saw him standing with Katharine. She'd come in a couple hours earlier, insisting that she be there when Sara and Mark were arrested. She took a step into her office, but stayed at the door so she could hear what was being said without being seen.

"What will you do now?" Jane asked Katharine.

Katharine took a deep breath. "I don't know. Sara obviously can't be my public face anymore." She laughed uncomfortably.

Lisbon peeked out and saw Jane grin.

"She wasn't doing you any favors anyway," Jane told her, "you're much more attractive than she is any day of the week." He stuck his hands in his coat pockets and rolled back on his heels.

She smiled up at him coyly before pushing a lock of honey colored hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

Jane shrugged.

Lisbon swallowed.

"Listen Patrick, I was wondering" Katharine began, but Lisbon had heard all she cared too. She stepped back into her office kicking the door shut as she went. She sat her coffee down on her desk and started closing up shop. It was a last minute decision, but suddenly the idea of staying around the CBI any longer seemed like a completely repulsive idea. She was really tired and she knew Cho and Van Pelt could finish up. She grabbed the case file and her jacket, then picked up her mug and made her way out to the bullpen.

Rigsby stood in front of Cho's desk and yawned as he handed him a twenty. Van Pelt hung up her phone and smiled up at Lisbon from her desk.

"Did Jane really drive the van into Sara's vehicle," she asked amused.

Lisbon smiled. "More like he drove the van into a curb and then Sara crashed into him."

Rigsby chuckled. "It was pretty awesome, actually," he added.

"I wish I'd seen it," Van Pelt said.

Lisbon looked back at Cho and Rigsby quizzically and watched as Rigsby made his way back to his desk. "You two betting again?" she asked.

Rigsby glanced at Cho nervously. "Just a small wager on the Lions."

Lisbon chuckled. "You guys bet on the United Football League?" She glanced at Rigsby.

Rigsby swallowed. "Yep," he said before looking down at his computer.

Cho looked up from his computer and towards Lisbon. "You going home Boss?" He asked nodding to the jacket and folder in her hands.

She moved to Cho's desk and sat the folder down on it. "Yes," she said simply. "Can you two finish up?" She nodded between Cho and Van Pelt.

"Sure thing," Cho answered. Van Pelt nodded in agreement.

Rigsby sat up straight. "What about me boss?"

She turned back to him. "Go home." She sat her coffee down on Cho's desk and started putting on her jacket. "You had a long night too. Go see your son."

She looked back in the direction of the elevator and saw Katharine reach up and peck Jane on the cheek before turning to the elevator. Jane stayed to watch her go. Lisbon's stomach flipped. She grabbed her mug and moved towards Van Pelt's desk. She walked out of the bullpen and into the kitchen then sat her cup in the sink.

"Where's Lisbon?" she heard Jane's voice as he walked into the bullpen. "I just checked her office."

Lisbon wasn't avoiding Jane, she told herself, she just wasn't ready to talk to him about what they'd discussed in the car. She went out the back of the kitchen and took the stairs down instead of waiting for the elevator. She made her way quickly to her car and even quicker from there out of the parking lot. She couldn't wait to get home and into the shower. She was wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday and felt grimy.

When she got home, she went straight to the bathroom deciding she didn't want to wait for a shower even in the amount of time it would take her to shed her clothes in her room. She flipped the shower on then quickly started de-vesting herself. When her jeans came off she tossed them to the floor and noticed something fall out of one of her pockets. She grabbed an elastic from her bathroom counter and started putting her hair up before she reached down and picked up the business card.

She flipped it over to the name and number on the other side of it. "Ryan," she whispered. The headache she'd been getting left instantly and was replaced with a happy calm. She sat the card down next to the sink and crawled into the shower. Maybe she should go out with him, she thought. There was nothing holding her back. The hot water spilled over her back and neck and the tension she'd been feeling build up immediately started to fade away. She smiled then decided she'd call him when she got out of a nice long hot shower.

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**Love to know what you thought. Thanks for reading and for everyone who has followed and favorited. You're all wonderful.  
**


	20. Nightmares End

**I know I said this chapter would be ready by Wednesday but I struggled with the end and got busy with work and Halloween. Sorry!**

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Chapter 20 Nightmares End

Jane pulled up in front of Lisbon's apartment and parked. It was Sunday and he hadn't heard from her since Friday when she'd snuck out early, with the exception of a couple of text messages, after he called her, saying that she didn't feel up to talking and that she was fine. It was irritating, he wanted to go straight to her house, but he knew what she wanted was a little space. He got out of his Citroen and made his way up to her second story apartment. He reached up to knock then decided against it. If he knocked she might not let him in and he wanted to see her apartment.

He quickly picked the lock and let himself in closing the door quietly behind him. He could hear the soft Jazz playing upstairs and knew she must be in her room. He decided to take a minute to look around. There was a half empty container of Chinese noodles on the kitchen table and her sink was full of dishes. A blue dress hung over one of her kitchen chairs and there was a pair of high heels discarded beneath the same chair. Her furniture had been moved around and every outfit that had been in her closet was now draped over her living room chair and ottoman. Sheets, a blanket and pillows covered her couch haphazardly. Everything she owned was now occupying the main floor of her apartment.

He was never surprised to see boxes that she still hadn't unpacked lying around, but Lisbon was very clean. The idea that she would allow her apartment to become as messy as it currently was unnerved him. He heard her move around upstairs and decided it was time to make his way to her room. He bounded up the stairs and slowed as he approached her room.

"Lisbon?" he called out.

He could see her standing with her back to him directly in front of Red John's smiley face. She was standing barefoot with a couple buckets of paint next to her, her bed was gone as was all of the furniture in the room, and he imagined that the carpet would probably be the next thing to go. She was wearing gray sweat pants which were rolled up just below her knees, a white t-shirt, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and her left hand was resting on her hip.

She turned quickly when she heard his voice, gun raised and pointed it at him. "Jane!" she shouted when she saw him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

His hands went up and stayed up until she sat her gun down on the floor. "No. I wanted to see you."

She turned from him, knelt down grabbing a flathead screw driver and popped the lid off one of the cans of paint. "So you thought you'd break into my apartment?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said taking a step into her room.

She looked up at him briefly before lifting the paint and pouring it into a pan. It was a light brown color.

"It's called Gaucho Brown," she told him reading his expression. "It's not my favorite color, but I knew it'd cover up ol' smiley here." She was distancing herself.

"Teresa, you don't have to do that with me." Jane took another step into the room.

"Do what?" she said almost coldly as she stood up and sat the paint can down on the carpet.

"Put up a front."

She crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She turned from him and looked at the face again. Her hands found their way to her hips. "How can you stand it Jane?"

He moved past the spot where he'd thrown up and past where the end of the bed had been and finally came to a stop by her side. "What?"

"Having this," she signaled to the face with her left hand, "awful reminder constantly staring down at you. Reminding you of what happened."

He watched her intently as she spoke, then looked at the face when she finished and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I can't stand it. That's the point," he added quietly.

She continued almost as if he hadn't said anything. "You know it's funny. You and I have both lived in houses where Red John has killed and neither one of us has moved away. What does that say about us?" she asked casually. "Although, I didn't even like Erica."

She moved to the paint once again, grabbed a roller and stuck it in the pan rolling it until it was full of paint, all the while speaking, "I really am sorry that she died the way she did, that she suffered, but I'm not sorry she's dead." She dropped the roller and stood up. "The woman died in my house, and I'm not sorry she's dead. And I'm just going to paint over her blood and keep living here. What kind of a person does that make me?" Her voice was choked up.

"A strong one," Jane told her definitively.

She scoffed, "Right."

Jane turned toward her. "Do you want to stay here?"

"It's my home," she said skirting his question. "You were right Jane. One day Red John is going to kill me, it's inevitable. Right now, he's using me as a pawn, but eventually he'll come and he'll kill me."

"No, he won't." Jane took step forward.

"It has nothing to do with strength, Jane. There's just no point in hiding. I just hope when he comes, that I don't have any regrets."

"Teresa, don't talk like that." Jane started to reach for her.

She stepped back. "I went on a date last night," she said surprising him. "With that EMT from the hospital. Ryan."

Jane could feel a feral growl rising up his throat and only barely managed to stop it. He clenched his jaw for a moment then forced a small smile. "Oh? How was it?"

"It was nice," she told him as her toes curled into the carpet and she crossed her arms again.

Jane felt his brow trying to furrow, but he was determined to keep as pleasant a face as possible. She obviously wanted to talk about this and the least he could do is let her, despite how uncomfortable it was making him feel. "What did you do?"

"Dinner," she said as she turned to face her wall.

Jane suddenly remembered seeing her dress at the table. They'd gone somewhere nice. "Are you going out with him again?"

She turned her head toward him and nodded. "Yeah, next Friday."

"Well it sounds like you like him…" he was ashamed, but he had to fish. Either that or he'd do a background check on him. Or maybe he'd do both…

"He's a really nice guy," she said as she quickly looked away.

Jane knew that look and it gave him instant relief. "But…"

"What makes you think there's a but?" she asked nonchalantly.

"I've seen that face before, it means there's a but. So what is it?" He started feeling a little giddy. If she was playing this cool, it was a _big_ but…

She rolled her eyes at him. "Alright fine. He's… he's a little dull."

Jane had to fight with every muscle in his face to keep from smiling like a fool. The last word she'd ever use to describe him as was dull. It made him feel triumphant.

The thing is…" she paused to think about how to say what she was thinking, "I've started realizing lately that I have no life. I'm so caught up in my job all the time. When he asked me out at the hospital I told him that I'd just gotten out of a relationship and wasn't ready to date. Why'd I do that?" Her brow furrowed. "Why was my immediate reaction to sabotage myself?" She didn't wait for him to answer.

"I'm going to give him another shot. I need to. I can't live my life waiting for the worst to happen, and I can't continue to live my life only for my job. He's handsome, nice and he thinks I'm sexy," she said tilting her head pleasantly. "There aren't fireworks with him like…" she stopped abruptly and looked over at him. "I don't know what," she said quietly. "It's not like I've ever felt fireworks before," she added with a harrumph.

Jane suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach. "You will Dear. One day," he told her.

She smiled weakly then looked at the wall again. They both stared at the face for a moment before she spoke again. "Wanna help me paint?"

He looked over at her and smiled. "I'd love to, but when we're finished you and I are going to do something about your nightmares."

He watched her face drop, but she recovered quickly. "I should've known you'd bring that up."

"I thought for sure you'd have a thousand questions to ask me about what I told you in the van," he said. He turned from her and walked back out into the hall stopping just outside the door. He removed his shoes, jacket and vest, then started rolling up his sleeves before he came back into the room.

"I thought I would too…" she said sincerely while he was in the hall. "I know what that must have cost you to tell me that. Thank you for candor."

"You're welcome," he said grabbing another roller and getting it ready. He stood up as he slid the roll onto the metal roller. "But don't assume I did it for nothing."

She picked up her roller out of the pan. "Like you'd let me," she said as she made her way over to the smiley face. She stopped in front of it and stared, causing Jane to pause what he was doing and watch her. After a moment she breathed in deeply and pushed the roller over the face. Within seconds, it was nothing but a nasty memory. Jane looked at Lisbon as she blanked the face out and felt an overwhelming sense of admiration for her. She was sensitive, but she was also strong. Stronger than anyone he'd ever met.

* * *

Lisbon sat on her couch with Jane next her. She was embarrassed by how messy her apartment was and was surprised that Jane hadn't said anything about it. She figured he was as nervous to hear what her dreams had been as she was to tell him—otherwise she was sure he would've been harassing her mercilessly. She pulled her feet up under her and wiggled around a little until she was comfortable.

She'd tried dragging out the painting process as long as possible, but her room wasn't that big and with two of them painting, it had gone by pretty quickly. Now they sat silently and she knew Jane was waiting for her to start. He'd told her about Erica freely and he expected the same of her. Jane put his shoes back on his feet taking his time. Lisbon knew he was pacing himself to give her a moment and was grateful for that. Once his shoes were back on, he gently folded his vest and suit jacket before placing them on the pile of her clothes on her ottoman.

He glanced over at her, then reached up to his sleeves.

"Alright, Jane stop," she said before he could roll his sleeve down. "I appreciate that you're trying to give me a moment, but now you're freaking me out."

His brows went up and he leaned back against her couch. Her pillow was behind his back and he reached around and grabbed it, then plopped it down in his lap.

She shook her head a little. "Before I tell you this, it's important that you realize something."

"Okay," he told her as he laced his fingers together on top of her pillow.

"It irritates me to no end when you take blame for everything," she saw him stiffen a little and she knew that he was fully aware of where she was going with this. She knew he wasn't happy about it, but he needed to know. "Red John killed your wife and daughter. Red John killed Erica. It was not your fault."

"Teresa," he said anxiously.

"Jane stop," she breathed out, suddenly aware that she'd been holding her breath. "If you want me to tell you what I've been dreaming than I need to know that you are not going to internalize it so you can feel guilty about it later."

He looked at her warily for a moment and she began to feel nervous. Then she saw his lips quirk up a little at the side. "I don't think I'm totally in control of that compulsion, but I'll try. Thank you for caring about me like that."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel her cheeks warming up, she wasn't sure why she felt so embarrassed. "They're not just dreams about that night." She opened her eyes, but looked down at her hands which were clenched into fists.

"Teresa it's okay," Jane told her soothingly.

"This is so embarrassing." She hadn't actually spent much time thinking about her dreams. She would wake up from them in a cold sweat, then take a shower and move on with her life. She knew avoiding the issue wasn't helping them stop, but now that she was actually thinking about them, well, she felt pathetic.

Jane chuckled.

She glanced over at him. "What's so funny?"

"Are they sex dreams?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

She grabbed a pillow and chucked it in his face. "No! They are not sex dreams!"

Jane grabbed the pillow from her and she was irritated beyond belief to see that his smile had gotten bigger.

"Alright fine," she yelped. She had to get it out now before he pushed this nonsense any further. "They're always different dreams and always around some event from the past. Like when you shot Hardy, only in my dream you get shot. Then there was the time you got us shipped off in a crate when you tried to get me off suspension—but instead of a kid letting us out it was a man with a gun and he shot you." She kept her eyes locked on her fingers. "And then there was the time when that bomb was strapped to me and I kept telling you to get away from me and you didn't and you blew up." She started shaking her head before. "And of course the cherry on top is that night, only this time I come home to find you dead… They're always about you getting killed."

"Interesting," Jane said gently. She looked over at Jane and watched him as he lifted his right hand index finger to his mouth and tapped his lips, while looking into space. He was thinking.

She stood up from her couch and started pacing the floor in front of the couch. "You know it's bad enough that I have to worry about you at work, I shouldn't have to dream about you dying too!"

"Each of these dreams were instances where I did something to try and protect you or help you." It was a question, but sounded like a statement.

She stopped walking and thought about her dreams again. "I…" she looked up as she recalled each one, "yeah… I guess they are." She felt herself frown. How was it possible that she'd missed that? It seemed so obvious now.

Unexpectedly Jane was standing in front of her. She hadn't even seen him get off the couch. He lifted his hands and grasped her shoulders. She felt a lump form in her throat as he tried to make eye contact with her. She was so angry that she hadn't seen it. She blinked back tears.

"Why don't you ever listen?" she asked quietly.

"If I had you might be dead," he responded evenly.

"But you could've died because you didn't listen." Her voice was shaky.

"But…" He bent his knees to come eye to eye with her. "I didn't."

She felt a traitor tear spill out of her eye and down her cheek. "You have got to be more careful." She was starting to regain her even tone with some effort.

He smiled lightly and his eyes lit up. "Come on Lisbon, you know me better than that. No one is as concerned about self-preservation as much as I am."

She felt her stomach clinch at his use of her surname. He still called her that on occasion, but it was mostly Teresa now. If he called her Lisbon right now, during _this_ conversation it was because he was trying to distance himself. "As long as my safety, or my job is not on the line, or as long as Red John is not in the picture, then yes, you take care of yourself." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

His arms dropped and he turned from her just a little. "Yes, well… I guess it's easy to see what's important to me."

"Maybe that's the problem Jane. Your priorities are skewed," she couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Teresa," he said warning in his voice.

"I'm serious Jane. It's not healthy. The two most important people in your life are a serial killer and your boss," she swallowed. "I just…"

He looked over at her. "You are not just my boss…" he said, his words falling cold against her skin. She could feel goose bumps rising on her arms.

"You have got to be more careful," she repeated.

He took an aggressive step toward her. "Why?"

She gasped at his sudden movement but kept her feet planted. "Because I don't want to lose you!" It came out before she could think about what she was saying or what it might imply.

He smiled at her. "There it is."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "What?"

"The root cause of your nightmares. I don't think you'll be having them anymore," he told her confidently.

His phone beeped just then.

She blinked back tears and looked at him defiantly. After a moment he pulled his gaze from hers moved away from her and went to his coat grabbing his phone out of his pocket. His expression went from somber to irritated in seconds. She crossed her arms in front of her chest waiting for him to look up at her again. He closed his phone and shoved it back in his coat pocket, turned in her direction and looked her in the eye.

He acted as if he'd never received a message. "I won't promise you that I will stop trying to protect you, and I know you won't hold it against me because you know it would be a double standard, but I will promise to be more careful and to tell you before I do anything that I think may be dangerous."

She felt her jaw clench, there were a lot of things he did that she thought were dangerous that he had just brushed off like it was no big deal. Still, she knew it was probably the best offer she was going to get. She breathed in deeply then nodded her head.

"Good," he said. "How about dinner?" He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically.

And this time she smiled. "I could eat."

* * *

**Reviews are always appreciated!  
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	21. Distraction

**Happy thanksgiving everyone! Or boxing day... or day. Whatever.**

**Thanks for sticking with me even though my updates have been inconsistent, and thank you for sending me messages to encourage me to get on with it. ****I apologize that this has taken so long. I've been pretty caught up in school, plus this chapter was just really difficult for me to write. **

**That said this chapter has a STRONG T rating. I don't think it's M, but you've been warned. When you get to the first section where the narrator follows Teresa you might want to skip ahead if you're skittish. Do read from the last full paragraph of the section on though. If you don't you'll be confused for the rest of the chapter.**

* * *

21 Distraction

Jane woke with a start. A small murmur had drifted to his ears and he blinked through the dark waiting for his eyes to clear. He sat up and looked around feeling confused. A shelf with knickknacks was the first thing to catch his attention, they led his eyes to a stairwell leading up, then a bare wall leading to more shelves. He blinked again before realizing that he was in Lisbon's apartment, slouched down on her couch.

He leaned back into the cushions as he remembered why he was here. He and Lisbon had eaten dinner together last night, after they'd painted and then they'd talked. They'd stayed away from the more uncomfortable topics that they'd fallen into of late, but after last night he had seen how necessary those conversations had been. It was one of the few times since he'd returned that he'd seen the Lisbon he remembered from before. He closed his eyes and smiled while leaning his head back. He'd missed her.

Another soft moan found his ears and he remembered why he'd woken up in the first place. His eyes opened and he looked on the couch to the left of him. Lisbon was curled into a ball with her head resting on the armrest. She was sleeping peacefully. Her hand reached down to her bare ankle and she scratched it. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times and then she stopped moving again.

He leaned back against the armrest to better scrutinize her. She'd put on one of her sleep jerseys, that he admittedly thought she was quite desirable in, before they'd started a movie and had wrapped herself up in a blanket. The blanket was now shoved over the back of the couch and he had a great view of her shapely legs. He closed his eyes and turned his head from her. He was obviously tired and she was Lisbon, he shouldn't be thinking about her like this.

He hadn't planned on staying so late, but neither of them was keen on him leaving. It had been obvious even if you weren't a Mentalist. She was exhausted and needed the sleep, but she was still afraid to sleep. He suggested a movie he knew would put her to sleep, but what he hadn't counted on was that he'd fall asleep too.

A soft hum rose from her throat and drifted to his ears. The hairs on his arms rose. A warm sensation filled him to the brim. He tried to pinpoint the feeling—define it. It felt like pride, but that didn't make any sense. Sure he'd been proud of her before. She was an amazing cop and he was protective of her, had been from the day he'd joined the team.

He knew he brought her a lot of grief, but he had _always_ been fiercely loyal and protective. She'd given him a chance when he'd been at his lowest moment. He'd given her no reason, as far as he was concerned, to think he might be useful. He owed her his loyalty and more. It was why he'd absolutely refused to work with anyone else. He conceded that his reasons seemed to be evolving over time, but they were deeply rooted in her misplaced faith in him. He didn't want to disappoint her, he did frequently, but he didn't want to.

Still, right now she was just sleeping. He risked glancing over at her again. She wasn't catching a bad guy, or putting someone in their place, or even scolding him, all things that made him proud. Sure, she looked completely adorable curled up with her mouth slightly open and her cheek mushed into the couch, but that wasn't reason to feel pride, was it?

A thought popped into his mind, a strong memory of Angela and Charlotte sitting at a piano, Charlotte was playing as Angela watched and he'd felt pride at the sight of them—his girls. His stomach flipped as he looked at Lisbon again. Her dark hair pushed behind her ear, her left arm wrapped around her body and her right hand resting on her hip. She shivered lightly, causing a chill to run up _his_ spine. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and put it over her before settling back again, trying to push the unsettling thoughts that were bombarding him out of his mind. It was ridiculous. She was no more his then she was Cho's or Rigsby's for that matter.

He closed his eyes, shutting her out and unwittingly started thinking about the nightmares she'd told him about. It had been fascinating to him where her mind had gone. She was afraid he'd be hurt trying to protect her. The time when the bomb had been strapped on her was the nightmare that most caught his attention. He started replaying the events of that night over in his mind.

He'd been sitting on his couch in the bullpen when she told him that she was going to Windsor High School. He hadn't had any interest in going to any of the other places, but when he'd hung up the phone the panic that he'd started feeling when she told him where the school was was becoming impossible to ignore, despite her assurance that she had a few nine millimeter "harpoons," with her.

He'd had to fight himself to stand up calmly and make his way to his car, but he had still made it to the school in record time. He wasn't sure what it was that had made him so intent on finding her or where his fear was coming from but it'd been strong, voracious, in his every pore. He'd been playing down his fear, remained outwardly calm, until he started calling out her name at the school with no response from her. Then he'd tried to mask his fear with humor as he'd pushed the door open to the ladies locker room and had called out to her again. That was when he saw her laying on the floor. He'd wanted to run to her side, but panic had seized his limbs and he'd frozen.

He remembered the relief he'd felt when he called out her name and she'd woken up and how fear had struck again when they both realized that a bomb was strapped to her. He dug his sock clad toes into her carpet as he relived the moment with perfect clarity. It had been a strange moment. He always ran away from trouble, unless Red John was involved or… Lisbon. Lisbon had been spot on when she'd accused him of that.

The night of the bomb he'd been afraid, she'd been more afraid. It was the one instance in her nightmares where she was wrong. She hadn't asked him to leave, not that it would have mattered. She'd been too afraid and as far as he was concerned the bomb was just as attached to him as it was to her. He'd taken her hands as much to comfort himself as her. The call had come in and he'd told her to answer it. She was worried that it would set off the bomb. He responded by saying, "We'll never know." _We'll_… there was never a question of him leaving. In that moment they were one in thoughts and actions.

It wasn't the first time, but it was a critical time, because their lives immediately depended on their actions. He remembered the exact moment that Lisbon's thoughts had diverged from his own. He'd cut in on her conversation with the mad bomber and her face had panicked momentarily, then she'd rolled her eyes at him when he was officially roped into helping her break into the CBI.

Their thoughts had merged once more when they'd found the bomber, she'd gone along with his "confessing his feelings for her" act, and then again when he'd started talking about the pain of dying and how much it was going to hurt, although he realized that she was only half playing along when she'd ordered him to leave. Like that was going to happen. If his plan failed and they hadn't gotten the trigger, he knew there was a good chance she'd die and there was no way he was going to leave her to die without him.

He remembered her scolding him afterwards and felt a smile creeping over his face. She had been pissed. He told her that he'd wanted to go, but that his ego kept him from doing so, that if he'd left he would have looked like a coward. Even as he was saying it he knew it wasn't true and he knew she'd known it wasn't true as well, but as always she played along. It was what they did, what they were accustomed to—it was safe.

He opened his eyes again and looked over at her, she was snuggled very comfortably into the blanket he'd put over her. He decided that he very much liked waking up on couches with her next to him. Maybe they could take a nap on the couch in her office next, or in his hotel except he didn't have a couch in his hotel, only a bed… His stomach churned once more. He couldn't figure out where all these thoughts were coming from. He fidgeted then jumped when one of her feet slid into the side of his leg.

Neither of them was very comfortable and he had a feeling they'd both wake up sore if they stayed like this. Jane stood up begrudgingly and stretched his arms back. Then he took the few steps towards Lisbon's head and stopped.

"Teresa," he whispered, "go ahead, stretch out." He pulled the blanket from her and grabbed her right arm lifting her up gently.

She blinked at him through heavy lids. "Jane? What are you doing?"

"Stretch out," he repeated coaxing her to straighten out on the couch. She did as he said and ended up stretching her legs out until her toes pointed and pushed her arms out way above her head. _Adorable, _Jane thought. When she finally came to a rest Jane spread the blanket over her again. Once she was covered he started to turn away from her but stopped when he felt her small hand on his wrist. He looked down at her, brows raised.

"Don't leave," she said so quietly he barely heard her. Her hand dropped and she was out like a light once more.

He looked at her curiously. He had planned on leaving, but how could he now? He pushed the coffee table away from the couch, grabbed the pillow he'd been using and the throw that was on the back of her chair, being careful not to knock her pile of clothes onto the floor. He removed his vest dumping it on the floor by the end of the couch then moved back to the space he'd made for himself on the floor. He wrapped the throw around himself and lay stomach down on the carpet. It wasn't as ideal as waking up with her right next to him like when they'd fallen asleep at work, but waking up with her in close proximity was good too. He inhaled the smell of the pillow that was so distinctly Teresa Lisbon then turned his head and miraculously fell asleep.

* * *

The blanket over Lisbon's bare legs were suddenly too much, too hot. Her skin was warm, sensitive, she couldn't take it anymore. She kicked them down with a flurry and felt a chill run through her body, not from the cold, but from him. His lips trailed up her neck, down her jawline, slowly, enticingly, until they teased the corner of her lips.

"Teresa," he murmured, "kiss me." He took possession of her lips with his own, moving his with hers in gentle but firm motions, taking care to learn every inch of hers with his. He grabbed her jersey clad hip and turned her on her side so she was facing him. Her heart jumped into her throat as his arms wrapped possessively around her waist and as he scooted flush against her not even an inch remained between them. Their legs intertwined, his slacks brushed over her legs tickling them.

His mouth moved slowly away from hers past her chin and to her neck. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open and she lifted her chin back to allow him easier access. She felt groggy—confused, but the sensations his lips were creating on her skin took priority.

"I like… your… jersey," he said in a husky voice between butterfly kisses. "What's the… 99 for?"

She slid her arms up from where they'd been laying lightly on his shoulders and delved them into his curls before eagerly searching for his lips. She wasn't interested in talking right now. She could feel him smiling as their mouths came together once more and once again a pleasant shudder shot through her body.

"Hmm?" he hummed against her mouth after a moment, then pulled away. They were both breathing heavily. "The 99?"

She hitched her leg over his bringing them just a little bit closer and felt her body quake when his hand skimmed over her bare calf. His lips connected with hers again, this time almost viciously.

It was a moment before he pulled away. "You think you can distract me with your feminine wiles, but I will not be deterred woman." His mouth immediately found her neck placing hungry kisses all over it.

"Stop talking," she finally said. Her voice was huskier than his and near foreign to her own ears. She swallowed deeply before kissing him again. She wasn't sure why he felt so talkative all of a sudden anyway. Hadn't they both just been sleeping and now… well there were better things he could be doing with his mouth.

His hand moved slowly up her thigh over her butt and to her back. Her body screamed at the sensations his fingers were causing but her mind, though groggy, suddenly felt as though this was strange. She nipped at his bottom lip and felt a sense of triumph when a moan escaped his mouth. This had apparently been all it had taken to move things along and before she knew it he had her pushed back against the cushions and was hovering over her.

Her hands slid down his chest and started undoing each and every button as he kissed her fervently. She felt his abdomen flinch away from her touch and again felt a sense of triumph. She wondered why that was, but quickly became distracted again as she undid the last button. She slid his shirt off his shoulders and he pulled away from her long enough to remove it from his wrists and toss it onto the floor with his vest. His mouth found hers again quickly and she smiled at his urgency.

She felt his hand slowly sliding down from her waist to the hem of her jersey and her heart began to beat more rapidly than it had been. How _that_ was possible she wasn't sure. His hand grasped her shirt, but he stopped and she felt disappointed. His mouth slid away from hers, across her cheek and to her ear. She could feel his warm breath tickling her neck, his soft lips next to her earlobe. Her body arched into his without her consent.

"Teresa," he whispered her name almost reverently, "I need you to say it." His voice was so different than it had been earlier. Instead of cocky and light it was desperate and needy and it caused a wave of fear and confusion she couldn't explain to hit her like a wave.

"What?" she asked as her fingers dug urgently into his bare shoulders.

He kissed her behind her ear then slid his mouth back to rest on her earlobe. "My name."

She smiled briefly, pleased that it was such a simple request, then panicked when she opened her mouth to speak and no name came out.

She could feel him smile against her cheek. "Patrick," he encouraged her.

"Patrick?" she repeated curiously as she finally allowed her eyes to open. She blinked a few times before her eyes cleared. Her brow furrowed at the man smiling above her. She became abruptly aware of his hand slowly, slowly, lifting the hem of her jersey. Her breath caught in her throat and her hand flew to his and grabbed it stopping his progress.

"Jane!" she yelped as she sat upright on her sofa.

She looked around the room anxiously as she pulled the hem of her shirt down as far as it would go. She was in her living room, on her couch. Her comforter was on the floor, her sheets kicked down to her feet and Jane… was nowhere in sight. Her breathing and heart beat were sporadic. She forced herself to think. It was Thursday morning. Four days since Jane had spent the night and had slept on the floor next to her on the couch.

"Sheep dip," she groaned as she realized what had happened. She fell back into her pillows and covered her rapidly warming face with her arms. "Not again!"

* * *

Jane made his way out of the elevator and towards the bullpen. He glanced into Lisbon's office as he passed, but she wasn't there. He felt his brow furrow as he entered the bullpen, past Rigsby and Cho and their desks then came to an abrupt halt at Grace's desk. His right hand went into his right pant pocket and his left went into an L shape as he began rubbing his thumb over his index finger. He turned back to the team, who were now staring at him, but didn't say anything.

He'd wanted to ask where Lisbon was, but decided against it. She'd been acting strangely since Sunday and he wasn't the only one who'd noticed. He didn't want to add fuel to the fire. When they'd woken up on Monday morning, her face had been flushed and she hustled him out of her apartment. He assumed she was embarrassed to be waking up with him there, but she'd been keeping some distance between them all week. Yesterday, she'd even turned when she saw him coming and had high-tailed it to the elevator. He'd followed her and asked what she was doing, but she'd brushed it off telling him she'd left something downstairs. She hadn't been downstairs since last week.

He knew she wasn't having nightmares anymore, so that couldn't be it. He'd recognized that her nightmares were deeply seeded in her denial. As soon as she confessed her fear to herself, and him as the case happened to be, the nightmares would stop. Besides he'd seen no reason to suggest that she hadn't been sleeping. She wasn't as cranky as she'd been, she hadn't had a headache all week and she looked well rested with a healthy glow.

"Any cases?" he finally asked.

"No," Grace told him, "I'm glad though, it's nice to get caught up on paperwork, plus if we're not bored people are getting murdered." She shrugged.

_No cases, great, _he thought indignantly. He was starting to worry about Lisbon and desperately wanted something to distract him.

Rigsby smiled and returned his attention to the stack of papers in front of him, Van Pelt did as well. Cho stood up and grabbed a box off his desk and walked over to Jane.

"Here," Cho said handing Jane the box. Jane didn't take it. "Lisbon wants you to look through these cold cases, see what you can see."

"She does, does she?" he asked rolling back on his heels.

Cho pushed the box against Jane's chest. "Yes."

"Meh, it's busy work and you know it," he whined before taking the box from Cho disinterestedly. Where was she? It wasn't like her to be this late. Maybe she'd called in, desperate, for some unfathomable reason, to stay as far away from him as she could. She _had_ been avoiding him, he was sure of it.

Cho walked back to his desk and sat down, ignoring Jane. Jane's stomach sank, no one was going to volunteer information about Lisbon whereabouts, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"What if we all leave and go to lunch?" He dropped the bait.

Rigsby's head shot up. "We can't do that," he said as he licked his lips.

"Why not? It's not like Lisbon's here to make us stay." He cringed internally. It wasn't his smoothest move, but it hadn't been _too_ obvious.

"It's only eight-thirty and if we don't get this paperwork done before she gets here, she'll know we left," Grace said with a small grin.

Jane shrugged. "Slave driver," he said. This was not working as well as he'd hoped, but at least he'd made it easier to inquire as to her whereabouts. He turned and moved slowly to his couch. "Where is Lisbon?" he asked casually as he sat the box down.

"Didn't say," Cho told him.

He looked toward him then turned and sat down on the couch. "Hmm." He sighed, then flipped the box open and grabbed the first file out. He was about to start looking though it when he saw movement in his peripheral vision in the direction of Lisbon's office. He looked up and saw her walk through her door.

Before he knew what he was doing he was up, tossing the file behind him. Cho said something about the papers that were now cascading around his sofa as he passed but he ignored him as he exited the bullpen and made his way to Lisbon's office. Whatever was going on had to stop, he was going to get it out of her or his name wasn't Patrick Jane.

She was hanging her jacket up when came in.

He stopped abruptly and took her in. She was wearing her black button-up shirt with the red lining, jeans and her hair was pulled back into a bun.

"Satisfied," he said. He'd meant to sound livid, but it had come out as a choked stage whisper.

She jumped then turned quickly, her eyes narrowed when she saw him and made his stomach clench. She was angry or irritated. "What?" she snarled.

"You've got me working on cold cases while you're out… doing whatever it is you were… doing." He was trying not to focus on the lovely glow she had this morning. Plus he was pretty sure she was wearing more makeup than she normally did. Still he couldn't be bothered with such irritating thoughts right now. He had to get to the bottom of this and now.

"Geese, Jane," she scolded. "Are you totally incapable of knocking? You scared the life out of me."

He couldn't help but notice her visibly relax.

"No, if I wanted to scare the life out of you I'd leave for another six months." He knew it was childish, but he didn't care right now.

Her eyes narrowed even more. "That's not funny." She moved to her desk and sat down.

"Well I don't particularly enjoy you ignoring and running from all week long either," he placed his hands on her desk and looked her in the eyes. "Are you angry with me?" His tone softened.

Her eyes opened wide, surprised. She felt bad. "No, Jane." She closed her eyes, placed her elbows on her desk and allowed her head to drop into her hands. "I'm not mad at you."

"What's going on then?"

She lifted her head and peeked through her hands, then reluctantly dropped them to her desk. "I was… I didn't mean to make you think I was mad. I'm not. It has nothing to do with you." She stopped speaking abruptly on her last declaration, blushed fiercely and looked away from him. Jane stood tall. That was strange and so unlike any of the variations of this conversation he'd imagined.

"Teresa," he started not exactly sure what he was going to say. "You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?" _That'd_ _work_.

She looked at him again, the fierceness returned. "Not this I can't," she said firmly, "and I would really appreciate it if you didn't push or use any of your mind games on me."

He narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. "If you don't tell me, than I can't make any promises."

She pushed her chair back and stood up abruptly. "No, I guess you can't. Surprise, surprise." Her voice was full of mocking anger. "I'm not mad at you now, but if you don't leave this alone I will be and the cold shoulder you've been feeling all week will be like a balmy summer breeze in comparison to what I'll give you if you don't."

This was serious. He was speechless. She'd always confided in him, and he couldn't imagine what would make her stop now. He wasn't going to drop it, how could he now? He'd just have to make her think he was so he could snoop behind her back.

"Okay. I won't pry, on one condition." He shoved his hands into his vest pockets.

She placed her hands on her hips, took a deep relaxing breath and looked down at the floor before making eye contact again. "What's that?"

"No more cold shoulder. I can't stand it Lisbon." He felt a chill run down his spine. "You're my only real friend and when you shut me off, it's miserable and lonely. What you said on Sunday about you and Red John being the most important people in my life, well it was partly true. I haven't been lonely in a while and I'm not eager to go back to that."

Her angry expression changed rapidly into a sad one. He hadn't wanted to make her sad, hell he hadn't even meant to confess what he had, it'd just come out. He rolled back on his heels and looked away from her. He couldn't take her gaze anymore.

"I'm sorry, Jane," she said quietly. "I didn't know…"

He felt a little braver at her words. "I know, but now you do. So if I've done something particularly heinous, talk to me. We always talk, or you yell and then we get over it. It's a flawed system I realize, but it's always worked for us."

"It has," she conceded. "It just can't this time, okay?"

He nodded. He'd given her one last chance, now he'd _have_ to meddle.

She shoved her hands in her front pockets. "You're looking at cold cases?" she asked sincerely curious.

Cho had obviously played him; Lisbon hadn't said anything about the cold cases. "Yes," he responded simply.

"I don't have anything particularly pressing this morning," her boss voice returned. "Why don't you go grab what you've been looking at and we can go over it together."

"You don't have to do that." He suddenly felt like a little kid.

"I'm not asking Jane," she ordered pointing towards the bullpen, "go get it!" She walked over to him and pushed him out of her office when he looked at her obstinately.

"Alright, alright," he whined, then noticed her walking away from her office and towards the kitchen. "Where are you going?"

"I need coffee," she spoke over her shoulder.

He smiled. She still had a secret, but at least she was talking to him. The secret would come soon enough. "Make me a tea would you?"

She grumbled something he knew was a yes and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

The day had gone by quickly and Lisbon was relieved that Jane had confronted her this morning. She had been acting silly. The dreams were probably a reflection of her fears of him leaving again or her desire to get to know him better, not biblically of course, but he had a lot of secrets. Or maybe her mind was just messing with her after her date with Ryan. Trying to scare her away from a _decent_ possibility. Even she couldn't deny she was a runner. Anytime things became remotely serious with a guy, she'd get the itch.

Then again that didn't make since, she'd only been on one date with him. She smiled thinking about him, and then of course he'd been texting her back and forth all week and they'd talked a few times on the phone as well. He was a lot funnier than she'd originally thought. She shoved a lock of hair behind her ear and looked back down at her paperwork. This case was frustrating, she could understand why it'd gone cold. Still, she'd be surprised if Jane couldn't figure it out.

She looked across the table in her office and at Jane. He was reading the same page he'd already read four times. His brow was furrowed and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. On his third time through he'd told her that he felt he was missing something important. She watched his fingers slide down the paper and felt suddenly hot. She remembered her reoccurring dream, swallowed and looked away. Why did the dreams have to be so… so real? She lifted her wrist and looked at her watch. Six. She sighed in relief.

It was time to go. Ryan had talked her into going out today instead of tomorrow, although he insisted that she would want to go out with him tomorrow as well. She'd laughed and said "we'll see." Right now, she was certainly glad she'd agreed to go. She'd spent the entire day in extremely close proximity to Jane, and it had been muddling her brain. It was harder to repress the dreams when he was so close.

She had done a pretty good job, but there was the moment she'd mistakenly pushed him out of her office feeling the hard muscles in his shoulders that had brought back her dream in full force and to add insult to injury his smell had filled her every sense and she swore she could smell him just as strongly as if he'd been standing right next to her all day. Then there was the moment she'd passed him a file and his hand had brushed over hers, and the moment she'd caught him staring at her. It was irritating.

She stood up and made her way to her coat rack. "I'm heading out," she told him.

He finally pulled his eyes away from the file he'd been staring at for the better part of an hour. "What time is it?"

She lifted her watch. "Six-ten," she told him. She was supposed to be downstairs ten minutes ago.

"Leaving before nightfall?" He raised his brow. "Wow, I'm impressed. So what's dragging you out of here?" He looked back down at his file.

She swallowed. She really didn't want to tell him, but she knew that if she didn't tell him it'd lead to disaster. One secret was more than enough to keep from him at a time. He looked up at her and she realized she still hadn't answered. "Well, I… have a date with Ryan tonight."

He sat up in his chair and put his file down. "I thought you were going out with him tomorrow night?"

"Um, well, I was," _might still be,_ "but he convinced me to go out tonight." She kept her tone professional as she gathered up her things.

"I thought you didn't like him that much…" his voice sounded almost dejected, but she chose to ignore it.

"We've talked a few times this week and well, he's funny and he's really cute." She moved around her desk and to the door. "Have a good night Jane," she said. When he didn't respond she turned and left.

* * *

Jane felt sick. How had this happened without his noticing? Of course—she'd been avoiding him all week, he'd hardly seen her, that's how it'd happened. He stood up and made his way quickly to the windows in the bullpen and looked out just as Ryan the "cute" EMT opened the door to his truck for Lisbon and then shut it behind her. His eyes narrowed. _Of course he'd have a truck,_ he thought bitterly.

He shook his head and stepped away from the window. He was being ridiculous. A truck was a perfectly respectable vehicle, safe even. If they got in an accident she'd been safer than if she was in let's say, oh a Citroen. Plus it wasn't like he had any kind of a claim on Lisbon, or that he wanted one. Sure, he'd been having disturbing and confusing thoughts about her a lot lately, but there could be any number of reasons behind that.

He walked over to his couch and sat down. She was his friend, she was loyal and kind. She was always there for him and he knew deep down, even when she'd been avoiding him all week, that she always would be. She would never abandon him. Plus she was funny, smart, an amazing officer, infinitely patient with him, and if he was being totally honest she wasn't bad to look at either. It made sense that his feelings for her would be confused.

He swung his feet up, scooted down and made himself comfortable as he threw his arm over his eyes. That's all it was. He was confusing his admiration, and the fear of losing her for… something else. An image of Lisbon leaning into Ryan, and of Ryan putting his arm around her popped into his head. He growled deep down in his throat, then quickly cleared it.

When the fast succession of three beeps and vibration of his phone started it took him a moment to realize what it was. He lowered his arm, quickly grabbed his phone and flipped it open to the message. He smiled as he read: Meet me in the usual spot at 8pm. This was just the distraction he needed.

* * *

**Well, I hope you enjoyed it and that you're not too mad at me. It was a little mean, but I assure you it's entirely necessary. I've been planing it from the beginning, which is why she had the dream about Jane getting killed... Anyway, this was very nerve-racking for me to write so I'd love to know what you think of it. Have a wonderful day!**


	22. Pathetic

22 Pathetic

Jane passed Lisbon's office, looking in casually as he went. She was sitting at her desk and was looking particularly stunning today. She was wearing her hair down and curly, she had on jeans and her dark green button up shirt, that brought out the color in her eyes, with a dark blazer over it. She looked beautiful but he couldn't enjoy it because she was currently smiling at her phone. _Probably a text message from Ryan, _he thought bitterly. It was obvious from the moment she came into the office that her date last night had been a good one. An irritated lump formed in his throat as he picked up his pace and walked to the kitchen. He needed a cup of tea and fast.

He'd spent the entire night trying to figure out Lisbon's secret and rationalizing her new relationship with Ryan. If it could be called that yet. Jane decided that his dislike of the man was unfounded and that it'd do Lisbon some good to be fussed over a bit. He made his way into the kitchen and to the teapot. He then took it to the sink and filled it with water before setting it back on the burner to wait for it to boil.

This situation wasn't all that different than when she'd spent the night with Mashburn. He'd even pushed her into that. If he was being honest he hadn't really expected her to sleep with Mashburn, he'd even remembered feeling a little irritated by it. Especially when he'd gone to Mashburn's hotel and Mashburn had blocked Jane's way into the room and to Teresa. He knew that Mashburn was probably well aware that Jane had figured out that she was there, but it was a little insulting that _she'd_ hid from him. He hadn't liked it-at all.

Rationally speaking he liked Mashburn and he'd loved teasing Teresa, seeing her blush, and he did think she was in need of a little spoiling, but he hadn't expected the entire affair to feel so…. unpleasant. Really he had no one to blame but himself and she certainly hadn't been complaining. She'd been perfectly happy the next day, glowing even. _Glowing? No, she couldn't be…_

The teapot began to whistle just in time to pull him out of the disturbing thought. He shook his head and grabbed the teapot from the burner. He looked around realizing he hadn't yet grabbed his cup, or his tea, or the milk. He moved quickly preparing his chamomile before the water got too cold then put it back on the burner to allow it to come to a boil again. It only took a moment.

Teresa hadn't slept with Ryan. She hadn't seen him since last Saturday until last night and she hadn't been glowing after her date with him then and had been glowing all week. No he was definitely not the cause of her glow. Jane took a deep breath then let it out slowly. He felt relieved. He dunked his teabag in and out of the hot water then discarded it before taking a tentative sip.

The soft ding of the elevator followed by the clicking of heels in the direction of Lisbon's office brought him out of his reverie and caught his attention. He turned his ear in the direction of her office and listened carefully as he took another sip. He was curious, but not enough to move.

"Agent Lisbon," the familiar female voice spoke. He looked toward the bullpen and saw Grace and Rigsby looking towards Lisbon's office.

"Ms. Shultz," Lisbon spoke cautiously.

"Oh please, call me Katharine."

"Katharine..." Lisbon placated, "how can I help you?"

Grace looked towards Jane and smiled then nodded towards Lisbon's office. Jane sat his cup down, walked to the edge of the kitchen and peeked around the corner. Katharine stood in front of Lisbon's office looking fierce in a miniskirt, v-cut shirt and high heels. He swallowed.

"Actually, I was just looking for Patrick," Katharine told her.

Lisbon's mouth opened a little, then she plastered a smile on her face and Jane ducked back into the kitchen.

"Oh, uh, he's around here somewhere. If you want to have a seat over there by his desk, I'll go find him," Lisbon told her.

Jane cringed. He looked over at Grace who was now staring at him curiously, but he couldn't be bothered by that.

"Thank you," Katharine said.

He turned and quickly made his way out of the back of the kitchen as the two sets of heels headed to the bullpen.

"Have you guys seen Jane?" Lisbon asked the team.

He ducked into one of the viewing rooms for interrogations right after Grace said, "No, haven't seen him. I'll help you look."

He shut the door behind him and looked out the blinds as he made a mental note to buy Grace a fruit basket or something. He watched as Grace and Lisbon walked down the hall and towards him. Grace stopped Lisbon before the first interrogation room and told her what he'd done, or at least he assumed that's what she was saying. Lisbon pulled her chin back, then had to force back a smile as she shoved her hands into her pockets. He closed the blinds with one quick twist, stepped back from the blinds and waited. He wasn't eager to explain his behavior, but he didn't see he had much choice in the matter. They'd find him in a second. They'd probably even seen the blinds shut.

He took a step away from the door and waited. The door to the viewing room opened. Lisbon came in followed by Grace.

"Jane," Lisbon's eyebrows were raised. "What are you doing?"

"Um," he looked between the two women as he decided what to say. He rolled back on his heels and decided on the truth. "I'm hiding."

Grace's face lit up like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard in her life and Lisbon smirked.

"Hiding?" Lisbon asked with obvious amusement. "Why?"

Jane shoved his hands into his vest pockets. "Last week after we closed her case," he breathed out and looked down, "she tried to ask me out."

"Tried?" Grace queried.

Lisbon's smirk was replaced by a barely noticeable look of confusion.

"Well, yes." He rolled forward on his feet. "I saw where she was going with the conversation so I…"

Grace shook her head, "You used one of your mind tricks on her, didn't you?"

Jane cringed. "Well…" he would've put it more delicately. "Yes. She's a lovely woman, but I'm just not..." Saying he wasn't ready to date didn't seem right. He wasn't entirely sure he was, but he was moving on.

He looked at Lisbon who had been abnormally quiet until now. "Well, obviously she didn't take it as a rejection, so hiding in here isn't going to help." She made eye contact. "I've seen how woman can be with you. She'll keep coming back until she talks to you."

Jane started shaking his head, he knew what she was implying he do, and he was not going to do it.

"Jane, this is ridiculous. It's like a Band-Aid, it's less painful the quicker you get it over with," she told him pointing towards the bullpen.

"That's a silly analogy," he said bitterly skirting the issue.

Lisbon's hands found her hips and Grace crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Coward," Grace accused.

Jane looked away from Lisbon and at the red head. "Yes, I am."

Grace blushed a little, but squared her shoulders.

He looked back at Lisbon. "Couldn't you just…"

Lisbon blinked rapidly. "You want me to turn her down for you?" she asked sounding completely stunned and irate by what he had just been about to request.

"That would be nice," he said pathetically.

She shook her head lightly at him.

"Jane," Grace interjected, "You can't expect Boss to…"

"I'll do it," Lisbon said determinedly. It made Jane nervous. She pointed her right hand index finger at him. "You, stay here."

She turned and left the interrogation room and after Grace shook her head at him disapprovingly for the second time she followed Lisbon out.

"Katharine," Lisbon's voice carried through the hall. "Can I have a word?"

Jane walked quickly back to the blinds where he parted them with his fingers and peeked out. Katharine was walking towards Lisbon and then the two women started towards him. Jane swallowed and removed his fingers, backing away from the door like a trapped rabbit. How could she be so cruel? He held his breath as the footsteps got closer, closer then passed his door. His brow furrowed for a split second before the door to the interrogation room opened. Lisbon held the door open for Katharine, then let it swing shut behind them. She wanted him to hear what she was going to say.

He made his way quickly to the wall and flipped the speakers on.

"Am I in trouble?" Katharine asked in an amused voice as she turned to Lisbon.

Lisbon smiled and shook her head. "No, not yet at least," she said under her breath, "but there's something that I think you should know. Please take a seat," She said signaling to one of the chairs at the table.

Katharine sat down as Lisbon pulled a chair from the wall and over to the end of the table before sitting down herself. Katharine turned her chair towards Lisbon so she was facing her straight on and crossed her long legs. Katharine smiled at Lisbon and Lisbon took a moment.

The door to viewing room opened startling Jane. He watched as Cho, Rigsby and Grace filed in.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked.

Grace shook her head at him.

"I can't believe you're making boss turn a girl down for you," Rigsby said grinning.

"Grace," Jane said feeling what he assumed must be humiliation. It'd been awhile since he'd felt that. Actually come to think of it, he wasn't sure he'd ever felt it. "Well, thanks for your concern," he said coldly, "but this is a private matter."

Lisbon's voice sounded loudly through the room. "You're here to ask Jane out, am I right?"

He glanced towards the speaker as Cho increased the volume.

Cho looked back over his shoulder at Jane. "You didn't actually think we'd miss this, did you?"

Grace and Rigsby both took a seat, Grace sat tall, Rigsby rested his elbows on his knees and Cho leaned up against the wall near the window, crossed his arms and peered into the interrogation room. Jane shrugged, then tilted his head from side to side in irritation. They weren't going anywhere.

"I guess it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Katharine admitted, just as Jane leaned up against the table that sat in the middle of the room. It blocked Rigsby's view, but he couldn't care less. Rigsby complained, but when Jane didn't move he simply scooted his chair, metal screeching on concrete, to the side.

"Wait," Katharine's face dropped, "you two aren't…"

"No!" Lisbon said a little too quickly for Jane's liking. "We're just coworkers—friends, that's it."

Katharine's smile returned. "Good, that would've been awkward. Plus, I have to admit I'm kind of relieved."

"You shouldn't be," Lisbon said as she quickly rubbed her hands on her jeans then clasped them together in her lap.

Katharine looked at her curiously and pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. "What do you mean?"

"Jane's a…" Lisbon fished for the words, "well frankly he's a mess. Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to date him."

Katharine chuckled. "We all have our baggage. I mean look at me—I got a woman killed because I insisted on having a ghost writer."

Lisbon nodded. "Yeah, well his baggage is a little more involved than that."

"You can say that again," Grace said bitterly slouching down in her chair. Jane glanced at her quickly, he was definitely going to have to get her a fruit basket.

"Is this a joke?" Katharine asked curiously. She glanced toward the one way mirror. "Is Patrick back there?" She smiled.

"I can assure you that no one's back there and that we are alone, and no, this is not a joke," Lisbon said solemnly.

Katharine's brow furrowed and she leaned forward. "I gotta tell you Agent Lisbon, this is a little unorthodox."

Lisbon unclasped her hands and gripped her knees. "I know, but I would be remiss if I didn't warn you?"

Katharine crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Warn me about what?"

"Jane," she stopped and rethought, "Patrick, he doesn't date. He's almost… asexual." A small mischievous grin crossed her face.

Rigsby chortled. Jane gave him a dirty look. He wasn't that bad was he? He'd kissed three women in the last year, and had slept with one of them.

"She obviously didn't see you with Aria," Grace said under her breath.

"Thank you!" Jane cried before he could stop himself. The team all gave him fleeting glances with little smirks.

Katharine shook her head. "He may be a lot of things, but that man is _not_ asexual," she said with a wicked smile as she waved her hand lightly for emphasis. "Trust me."

Lisbon looked a little shocked, as did Cho, Rigsby and Grace when they all turned and stared at Jane.

Jane raised his hands in the air. "I have no idea what's she talking about."

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed," Katharine said slyly. "Everything about that man screams sex appeal. There isn't a woman in the world who'd miss it."

Lisbon's eyes widened. Jane sat a little taller.

"Not Boss," Rigsby said assuredly. "She's way too professional to ever have thought about Jane like that."

"Twenty bucks says she has," Cho challenged keeping his eyes on the women in the interrogation room. Jane smiled at Cho.

"Cho!" Grace yelped.

"You're on," Rigsby said.

Grace glared at the two men. "You guys are awful."

Katharine continued. "His swagger, confidence, charm and his come hither smile, well," she tilted her head as though she was picturing Jane and smiled almost predatorily, "they certainly don't disprove my statement."

Lisbon's face contorted uncomfortably. "He's cocky because he thinks he's smarter than everyone, not because he's a ladies man," Lisbon countered throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Oh come on," Katharine spurred leaning towards Lisbon. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed."

Jane slid forward until he was all but falling off the table.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and leaned back against her chair before crossing her arms over her chest. "I suppose he's charming… sometimes." She said "sometimes" harshly.

Katharine laughed again. "Oh come, admit it… you work with him all the time, you can't tell me you haven't noticed how sexy he is? That you haven't fantasized…" She raised a brow at Lisbon.

Lisbon's head shot in Katharine's direction, her eyes as big as saucers and she blushed a deep crimson before looking down.

Rigsby spoke breaking the silence that had overtaken the room they were in. "Is boss... blushing?" he asked his question sounding just as shocked as Jane felt and the whole team looked.

No one replied.

"Of course I've noticed. I'm a woman and I'm not blind," Lisbon shot off defensively. "But that's neither here nor there."

Jane could feel himself smiling like a fool and knew that the team was staring at him, but he couldn't help himself. Lisbon thought he was sexy. He looked at Cho and shrugged then at Grace who was shaking her head at him. He knew she thought he was going to use this against Lisbon later, harass her and she was not happy about it. Rigsby pulled a twenty from his pocket sullenly, stood up and took a step toward Cho. Cho stepped back towards Rigsby and took the twenty from his outstretched hand and then the two of them returned to their spots.

"Listen, Katharine," Lisbon uncrossed her arms, rested her left arm on the table next to her and was obviously about to take control of the conversation again.

Jane looked back at her. The red in her cheeks was almost completely gone now. Had she… had she fantasized about him?

"Jane's wife passed away almost ten years ago and he really hasn't ever gotten over her," Lisbon told Katharine. "The only women he's really shown any interest in since then have been criminals." She lifted her hands questioningly and her face was contorted with a look of pure confusion as if she wondered herself what the hell was wrong with him.

Katharine's face dropped.

Lisbon continued, "Plus he's cranky, and self-centered, cocky, argumentative…" She was emphasizing every trait with a wave of her hands.

Jane could feel his brow furrowing as Lisbon listed his flaws.

"A big baby!" Grace threw in.

He looked back at her in her chair. She was smiling. So was Rigsby and Cho was... well he was smirking.

Lisbon's voice pulled him back, "…he's always scheming, playing games, lying, cheating. Since he started working here I've been nearly killed dozens of times more than before he came, and I've been suspended on his account more than once, practically fired…"

"Alright, alright," Katharine said cutting off Lisbon's rant. "I get the picture."

Lisbon clasped her hands in her lap again, "And on top of all that he's playing an extremely dangerous game of cat and mouse with a particularly vicious serial killer," she looked up as if she had just thought of something and pointed up with her right index finger, "and frankly I'm really not so sure he's the cat."

"What?" Katharine asked stunned.

"He may have sex appeal with his rumpled charm and angel curls," Lisbon signaled towards her own hair, "but is he really worth the trouble? Especially when you're caught up in a scandal of your own?"

"Wow," Grace said. "She's good."

Katharine's eyes were as big as saucers. "You're kidding, right?"

Lisbon pursed her lips and tilted her head before speaking. "'Fraid not." She let her words sink in a moment, then stood up and made her way to the door. "Well, my civic duty is done. Give me a minute and I'll go find him for you," she said reaching for the door.

"Wait," Katharine called.

Lisbon smiled, then reigned it in and turned back to Katharine with a confused expression and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"That won't be necessary," Katharine said. "You're probably right, about the scandal, I mean." She stood up, passed Lisbon and grabbed the handle to the door, then stopped and looked back at Lisbon. "Thank you, for being forthright."

Lisbon nodded and Katharine left.

"Too bad we didn't have popcorn," Rigsby lamented.

Grace leaned forward in her chair, then stood up. "Alright, we better get back to work."

Rigsby stood up and followed Grace to the door, then Cho turned and left as well. Jane stayed on the edge of the table and continued to stare at Lisbon, until she too left. Lisbon had just insulted him pretty harshly, but all he could think about was that she thought he was sexy with a "rumpled charm and angel curls," and that she'd blushed when Katharine had talked about fantasizing. It took him a moment to gather himself. He stood up and made his way to the attic. He needed a moment to think, away from everyone. Especially Lisbon.

* * *

After Lisbon had gone back into her office, shut the door and closed all the blinds, she sat at her desk and promptly allowed her head to drop to it with a loud thud. She couldn't believe she'd just practically admitted to fantasizing about Jane and in front of him nonetheless! Technically, that wasn't true, she hadn't fantasized. Her dreams weren't under her control, but she was still having them, and when Katharine had cornered her about fantasizing about Jane, she'd blushed so fiercely she still felt warm. There was no way Jane hadn't noticed that.

She knew Jane had seen the entire conversation go down, she'd wanted him to, but she hadn't thought she'd so obviously give herself away. She just hoped he didn't put her behavior from the week together with the show she'd just put on. She was at least grateful that she'd had the opportunity to bring his ego down a notch. That was what she'd wanted to do in the first place. She sat up, placed her right elbow on her desk and leaned her head into the palm of her hand, then smiled at what he must have been thinking while she was dissing him. Despite the embarrassment she'd just been feeling, she found herself chuckling. It _had_ felt pretty good.

Then another thought occurred to her. Jane had been receiving text messages all week. She'd thought they'd been from Katharine, but he'd apparently never gone out with her. Her brow furrowed. She felt relieved for reason's she couldn't explain that Jane hadn't gone out with Katharine, but at the same time she was now feeling anxious about those texts. Jane didn't really have any friends except for her and the team. If the messages hadn't been from Katharine, then she had very good reason to believe that they were bad news. Especially considering he'd been trying to out-friend Red John lately with his own list of powerful and unsavory.

A small knock sounded at her door pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she called sitting up.

Van Pelt opened the door cautiously, "Hey Boss."

Lisbon smiled and waved her in. "Hey Grace," she said turning on her computer. "What's up."

"I was just wondering if I could grab the Bronson file from you?" Van Pelt came to a stop in front of Lisbon's desk." Jane asked me to double check an alibi for him."

It was the case Jane had been fixated on yesterday. She looked towards her table. "It's over there," she pointed.

Van Pelt made her way to the table and picked up the file. "Thanks," she said walking back towards the door.

"Mmmhmm," Lisbon murmured.

"Where is Jane?" Van Pelt paused at the door and turned back to Lisbon.

"He's probably up in his attic, licking his wounds," it took all her will power not to laugh out loud. A sound that had been a laugh escaped her mouth but sounded more like a groan.

Van Pelt stepped forward catching her attention. She looked away from her computer. "You don't need to be embarrassed boss, I had a crush on Jane for a minute when I first started here… then of course he spoke."

Lisbon's face dropped. "What?" she asked nervously.

"I mean, you don't need to be embarrassed. You're secret is safe with us," Van Pelt told her with a smile.

Lisbon's stomach lurched. "Us…"

Van Pelt frowned. "Yeah, me, Cho and Rigsby."

They'd all been there. Awesome. She swallowed back the cuss words that were forming on her tongue. "Thanks," she said smiling. "Let me know what you find when you recheck the alibi."

"Sure thing," Van Pelt said before leaving the office.

Lisbon fought the urge to bang her head against her desk again. Instead she buried herself in paper work. It wasn't an hour later that Van Pelt was knocking at her door again. She had a lead on the alibi. Mr. Bronson's alibi was that he'd been at a doctor's appointment at the time of his wife's murder, pretty solid, except that he'd failed to mention that the doctor he'd supposedly seen was also his mistress. Lisbon had nodded approvingly before telling Grace to take Cho and go bring the doctor in. She in turn took Rigsby to go get Mr. Bronson.

A couple hours later the doctor was in interrogation room one and Mr. Bronson was in interrogation room two. Three years later, the doc and Mr. Bronson were no longer together and she had spilled about lying for him. Mr. Bronson wasn't so easy. Lisbon watched Rigsby with Mr. Bronson through the one way mirror, with Van Pelt and Cho at her side. She crossed her arms in frustration.

"We might need Jane for this one," Cho admitted after a moment.

Lisbon nodded. "Maybe," she responded. She actually hadn't thought about Jane since Katharine had left. Things with the Bronson case had all slipped together pretty quickly that she hadn't had time to. She wondered if he was still in his attic.

"Should I go get him Boss?" Van Pelt offered.

She looked over at Van Pelt and shook her head. "He's probably cranky. I'll get him." She turned to Cho. "Go in there and help Rigs. Bring on the pressure. He's obviously lying and he's pissed, which is great for us. If you get him talking in circles, the truth might slip out."

Cho nodded.

"I'll go see if I can get Jane to come down," she said as she uncrossed her arms and made her way out of the interrogation room.

* * *

Jane lay on his bed staring up at the warped ceiling tiles. He'd lost track of time and didn't care. Lisbon's admissions and her blush had been replaying themselves over and over again in his head. Every time they were a little sweeter a little more…real. It had never occurred to him that Lisbon might have feelings for him, but once she'd said what she'd said, all these moments over the years and things he'd been thinking about recently and his feelings about those moments were coming back to him in full force. Then of course there was the time she'd kissed him on the cheek, and they'd almost kissed at Erica's party, and there had been other incredibly intimate moments between them lately aside from those. He could feel his already furrowed brow pinch tighter.

_She blushed at the mention of fantasizing. _

Footsteps sounded against the concrete floor and to his space. He knew it was Lisbon. He closed his eyes tight as she entered and walked up to his bed.

"Jane?" she asked. "You awake."

He opened his eyes and sat up swinging his legs off the side in the process, but didn't say anything. He just looked at her.

"Okay, I know you're probably mad at me…" she started to say.

He shook his head lightly. "I'm not."

She looked at him curiously and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Really? 'Cause you've been hiding up here for hours?"

He smiled. "How could I be mad when you think I'm sexy with a," he looked up as though he were trying to remember her exact words, "a rumbled charm and angel curls?" He looked at her sideways.

She rolled her eyes. "Does your ego know no bounds? Out of everything I said that's what you take home?" Her hands found her hips.

He laughed silently at her. "Yep."

She held back a smile. "Whatever," he could sense a change in subject coming and sure enough... "Listen, your hunch on the Bronson case was right. Mr. Bronson is downstairs and we could really use your help."

Jane's thoughts spun around in his head and he felt a little dizzy. He wasn't ready to talk about cases. Huge ego or not he felt an overwhelming desire to continue on their previous track. Her blush from the interrogation room came to mind again.

She half smirked and waved her hand in front of his face when he didn't respond. "Earth to Jane."

"Lisbon, have you been dreaming about me?" he asked.

Her mockery immediately dissipated and was replaced with horror, then anger. Her jaw clenched. "Jane!" She raised her hands, then brought them down as if she decided whatever it was she was going to say wouldn't have mattered to him anyway.

She was and had been having sex dreams about him. He blinked.

"You know what," she continued. "When your head deflates and you decide to stop being a jerk, it'd be great if you could come down and do your job." She turned and headed for the exit.

Jane jumped off his bed called out to her. "Wait Teresa, stop. Please," he said through a chuckle, but for a moment he wasn't sure she would, so he followed her. He was feeling ridiculously giddy and for some strange reason nervous as well.

She did stop though and turned abruptly to look at him—he was nearly on top of her and he had to stop suddenly to not bump into her. She took a step back making space between them and crossed her arms in front of her chest. He stood his ground, but suddenly couldn't figure out why he'd called after her in the first place and why he'd followed her. His mind was one big blank… _and_ he was smiling. Still. She raised her eyebrows at him. He looked at her, standing defensively in front of him, fighting back equal amounts of embarrassment, anger and irritation, her green eyes staring defiantly into his and before he knew what he was doing he grabbed her shoulders, closed the space between them and kissed her.

She gasped and shrieked and tensed simultaneously. "Jan-mmmm!" Her speech was squelched. He felt her soft lips against his, felt her relax, felt her arms drop to her sides and finally felt her kiss him in return. Their kiss was slow, sweet, even if it was a little cautious. Their lips moved together gently and each movement was infused with profound emotions. After a moment he pulled a half an inch away and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks a rosy pink. He surprised himself by placing a small butterfly kiss on her lips, then another and another. Each time pulling away to look at her briefly before giving another, his eyes flickering open and closed between each kiss.

He felt her shudder in his grasp. Her arms were still at her side, but he wasn't worried about that. She had kissed him back. He leaned back a little further this time and took a good look at her. Her eyes were still closed, her head tilted up towards his and her lips slightly parted.

He opened his mouth to speak not sure what he was going to say, "Oh, wow." Well... that pretty much summed it up.

One, two, three seconds later her eyes slowly fluttered open. She made eye contact; her beautiful, wonderful emerald eyes sparkled up at him and her head tilted to the side slightly as if asking what had just happened. He kept his hold on her and she blinked at him, but neither said anything more.

"Boss?" Grace's voice carried from the hall. "Boss?"

Teresa stepped out of Jane's grasp and turned from him and toward the door just before Grace walked in. Jane wobbled and had to step forward a little at the loss of contact. Grace came in and walked quickly over to Teresa, who he was sure looked just as confused as he currently felt.

"What is it Grace?" Teresa said. Jane was surprised at how confidant her voice sounded.

Grace gestured with her hands as she spoke. "He said he's ready to talk, but he'll only talk to you."

Teresa's shoulders squared. "Me? Did he say why?" Her hands found their way to her hips and pushed her jacket back on either side.

Grace's face twisted up a little. "He said something about you tackling him..."

Jane felt an overwhelming sense of pride for Teresa and irritation. She'd tackled someone, but he hadn't been there to witness it.

Teresa fidgeted. Grace looked over Teresa's shoulder and glanced at Jane quickly. He hadn't noticed but her gaze brought him somewhat back to reality and he realized how he must look to her right now. _Pathetic, _in a word. His right arm was wrapped tightly around his waist, his left hand was touching his lips and he wasn't entirely sure he'd blinked since she came in. He straightened himself up some and tried to appear more confidant.

"Men," Teresa said. "He probably thinks I'll make a deal with him for injuring his pride." She shook her head and Jane suddenly was desperate to see her face again, but he stayed where he was. "Alright, let's go." She signaled for Grace to lead the way, which she did.

Jane held his breath as she reached the threshold. Was that going to be it? Would it be forever over. If she didn't look back he knew it would be because she wanted to pretend it never happened. One foot stepped over the threshold, then the other. She still hadn't looked back. Jane was about to give in to defeat when she surprised him by slowing her pace and quickly glancing over her shoulder before hastily catching up with Grace.

Jane could feel a smile creeping over his face. She wanted to talk about it. Relief filled him.

Then his phone beeped.


	23. Collateral

**Hey everyone, I'm back. Sorry for the wait. My finals last semester left me all but brain dead and my break was way too busy and now I'm in school again and my head is still spinning and might continue for the next four months. Blah. I appreciate all those who took the time to remind me that you were waiting for the next chapter. I do promise to finish this. I won't disappear without giving this a real ending. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

**Stephen Sinclair is in Chapter's 4 and 10 an is mentioned in 11 and probably a few other places as well. It's been awhile since I've mentioned him so in case you want a refresher...  
**

Chapter 23 Collateral

Lisbon walked out of the interrogation room and towards her office. She had crushed Bronson like a bug under her heel and felt proud about it. She normally was a little more reserved than that, but it couldn't be helped—he was a lying murderer. Also, even though she didn't want to admit it, she was feeling emotionally overwhelmed—worked up about what had just happened between her and Jane.

She tried to push the thought out of her mind as she entered her office, but she saw Jane walking down the steps, cell phone in hand and every moment of _it_ replayed in her mind. She panicked and stupidly threw herself against the wall behind her desk. She wasn't ready to talk about it right now. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, or the day after that. Just not right now.

She listened for the telltale sound of his shoes clacking on the floor, her heart skittered at a ridiculously fast speed, but when he didn't come she became curious and peeked her head away from the wall and out the windows facing the elevator. A small ding alerted her that the elevator door was opening and she watched as Jane stepped quickly into it.

She moved away from the wall feeling flustered. Where was he going at a time like this? Sure, she didn't particularly feel like talking about it right now, but he at least owed her the right to tell him, "later," right?

"I'm on my way," his voice drifted back to her and his tone was unmistakable. He was annoyed and maybe even a little cross. She felt her legs moving out the door that was behind her desk, picking up speed and to the elevator. Jane didn't get irritated often, mostly he just irritated, so for some strange reason the few times he had been irritated and the way his voice had sounded at those times had branded themselves into her mind. Perhaps it was because she felt proud at being able to return the favor, even if it was once in a blue moon.

She jabbed her finger into the down button several times and then abandoned the wait and decided to take the stairs. She was pretty sure he wasn't irritated with her and even if he had freaked out after… the attic—he wouldn't be talking to someone about it on the phone. It had to be whoever he'd been texting all week. His tone of voice had in fact directly corresponded with the face he'd made at her house last Sunday when he'd gotten a text after they'd re-painted her room. She bounded down the steps in huge leaps and made it to the parking lot just in time to see Jane pulling out of the lot in his Citroen.

A nervous feeling coiled in the pit of her stomach and made her feel queasy. Something was wrong. She ran to her car, pulling her keys out of her pocket as she went and made it there in seconds. She hopped in and was peeling out of the parking lot in hot pursuit. She pulled out her phone as she went and dialed his number. It rang four times before going to voicemail.

She saw his car make a right hand turn two cars and three blocks ahead and sped up. She thought momentarily about turning on her siren and pulling alongside him, but her rational side told her that if he wanted her to know what he was doing he would've answered his phone—he probably would've come to her office and dragged her out with him. She made the right hand turn and saw his car in the distance, getting ready to turn onto the freeway. She took a deep breath and decided to follow discretely.

If getting some insight into his secrets meant stalking him, then she would, to hell with the consequences. She was sick of his lies and omissions and felt a newly formed entitlement that she realized had popped up about half an hour ago… when he'd kissed her. Besides it seemed like a particularly good weapon right now. If he accused her of following him without his permission, she could accuse him of breaching a very serious work and personal boundary.

She was surprised when he turned off the freeway a mere twenty minutes later into an area of town nearly covered in warehouses. She slowed down and followed him off. It wasn't five minutes later that he was parking outside a ratty old building. She parked her car around the corner, and from her vantage point watched him get out of his car, walk around it to the gate, buttoning his suit jacket as he went, and make his way to the building. He knocked on a rusty door and a big burley man with a grim expression stepped out and allowed him entrance. The man looked around, making sure Jane hadn't been followed then stepped back into the building and shut the door behind him.

Lisbon leaned forward in her seat and had to swallow the bile that was currently trying to make its way up her throat. Why was this suddenly reminding her of the dream she'd had about Jane months ago. She was going to wait for him to come out, or make sure he came out, whichever came first. The sky was starting to darken on the horizon and the air around her felt suddenly very thick and foreboding. She hit the dash with her fist. If he didn't come out in half an hour she was going in after him.

* * *

Jane strolled into Stephen Sinclair's office with his hands clasped behind his back. He took a seat in the plushest looking sofa in the room and sat down like he owned the place. He crossed his legs and eyed a basket of fruit that sat on the table in front of him. He grabbed an orange and started peeling it, perfectly aware of the "Stephen Sinclair" double-slash-enforcer glaring at him from across the room. He pulled off a chunk of the peel and then as if it had just occurred to him he lifted the orange as if offering the angry man a piece.

The enforcer simply held his glare in place and ignored the offer. Jane shrugged and continued to peel the orange, placing the peel on the table next to the basket after looking around halfheartedly for a trash. He had just popped an orange slice into his mouth when the real Stephen Sinclair came in a side door and made his way to his desk with a grin on his face.

"How are the oranges?" Sinclair asked as he took a seat.

"They're a little dry," Jane said as he swallowed another slice.

Sinclair laughed heartily. "I'm not surprised, they've been there for three weeks." He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands in front of him.

Jane looked down at his orange, shrugged and shoved another slice in his mouth. Both men sat quietly for a moment. Jane knew exactly what Sinclair was doing, he wanted Jane to speak first, but Jane had absolutely no intention of doing so. He hadn't exactly fought the prospect of helping Sinclair, but he hadn't been totally thrilled either. After all Sinclair hadn't really been the one to get the information on Red John, he'd merely passed the information that Red John had wanted him to have along. It seemed like a cheat, but he knew there'd be no point trying to explain that to him.

Jane finished off his orange and folded his arms in his lap mirroring Sinclair. Sinclair had been watching him eat his orange intently, but smiled at Jane's antics and decided he'd have to be the first to talk.

"Mr. Jane, what do you have for me?"

Jane smiled in return. "If you'd wanted me to infiltrate Mr. Randle's operation, you shouldn't have sent me to him with a note from you."

"So, you have nothing?"

"Well, he's not an idiot. If he was you wouldn't be bullying me into to doing this for you," Jane told him as he reached up and scratched his head.

Sinclair stared at him for a moment before speaking. "I'm disappointed Mr. Jane, I thought you of all people could do what needs to be done."

"I don't like being manipulated Stephen…" Jane started.

"I'm not…"

Jane raised a hand and spoke over him. "You are. Let's not pretend for one minute that what you are asking of me is at all proportionate to what you did for me, but I am here and doing it nonetheless." He paused dramatically. "I have a way of getting the information you need."

"Yes?" Sinclair said.

"Randall's wife; Lisa."

Stephen cocked an eyebrow curiously. "You're planning on seducing her?"

"In a manner of speaking," Jane conceded. "She's lonely, and I've already struck up a rapport with her." The idea of flirting with any woman who wasn't Lisbon suddenly made him feel queasy, but he had to get Sinclair off his back before Lisbon became suspicious or he'd have more to worry about than feeling a little ill.

Sinclair leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk before clasping his hands. "You'll see her tonight." He wasn't asking. "If she's going to be useful you'll need to prove it to me immediately. I won't have you wasting time on a dead end." He looked over at the enforcer. "Make sure Mr. Jane gets to where he's going and back safely." The man nodded.

Jane stood up. "I appreciate it but I can drive myself."

"You've been avoiding me most of the week, Mr. Jane," Sinclair quickly inserted. "I need results…now. He'll take you."

Jane shook his head, but let the enforcer lead the way out. He had spoken to Lisa, knew she was desperate for attention and she'd liked him, but she was suspicious, her husband had trained her well: neglected, abused and mistreated her, but had trained her well nonetheless. It would take desperate measures if he was going to get anything out of her tonight, and it would have to be good if it was ever going to get Sinclair off his back. He reached down to his ring finger and twisted his wedding band. Jane had the sneaky suspicion that Sinclair was trying to groom him for a permanent position and he was not going to let that happen.

* * *

Lisbon watched the old building from her car. Nothing even remotely interesting had happened since Jane had gone in. If she hadn't seen people going in she would never have guessed that anyone was even inside the building and this fact gave her the creeps. There could be shady things going on in any of the buildings all around her.

She reached for her phone noting that only twenty minutes had passed since Jane had gone in. It had felt like longer, a lot longer. She inhaled deeply and shoved her phone into her blazer pocket. The entire situation filled her with negative emotions; she shifted anxiously in her seat and felt the comforting weight of her Glock on her hip.

She grabbed the steering wheel with both hands to give them something to do, then started thrumming her fingers over the hard leather. She tried to remember one of Jane's calming techniques, when a black sedan pulled around the corner. She ducked down in her seat but before she did, she saw Jane's familiar blonde curls in the passenger seat. She waited until she was sure the car was a safe distance then sat up and turned her car on.

A loud tapping of metal on glass made her jump and turn towards the window. The burly man who'd let Jane into the building earlier was standing at her window with a .45 pointed at her through the glass. She reached for her Glock, but he cocked his gun and shook his head.

"Put it on the seat," he instructed her.

She could feel the muscles in her jaw contracting tightly, but she did as she was told.

"Get out," he ordered her when she looked back at him.

She removed the keys from the ignition and he opened the door for her with his free hand. "I'm an agent," she said, "with the California Bureau of Investigation."

"Nice to meet you," the large man said in a surly voice. "Walk." He jabbed his gun at her and nodded towards the building. "Put your hands up!"

She put her hands up and started walking towards the building. "This is a bad idea, my colleagues know where I am and will be here shortly."

"That's something people say when they're lying." He jabbed her in the back with his gun. "Pick up the pace. We don't have all night."

Within moments Lisbon was inside the dilapidated building and was being marched toward the back. They came to a door where she was stopped and a black fabric bag was placed over her head, then she was lead into the room. She could still see silhouettes and movement, but the features of the man in front of her were indistinguishable.

"Ah, Ms. Lisbon, it's nice to finally meet you," a warm voice spoke as the door behind her shut with a click. "I'm sorry about the bag, but my livelihood depends on my anonymity."

"Not at all," she said glancing around the room, as subtly as she could, looking for other people, "Being kidnapped at gunpoint wouldn't be nearly as fun without having a sack put over my head." As far as she could tell they were alone in the room.

The man chuckled softly. "Yes, well it's not how I would normally treat a lady of your reputation, believe me I'd much rather be looking at your face, but I'm afraid Mr. Jane would be rather put out if I were forced to kill you."

She huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Mr. Sinclair, let's get straight to the point shall we. Why am I here?"

"You know who I am?" He sounded impressed.

"Yes." Jane had mentioned that he'd made "friends" with Stephen Sinclair and she wasn't naive enough to think that he would have given Jane the information on Red John without expecting something in return. It wasn't until he'd addressed her as Ms. Lisbon that she'd put it together though. Jane may have made friends with more than one disreputable person, but Sinclair was the only person who would know who she was with enough confidence to call her by name, first of all he had the resources and second of all he'd seen the photos Red John had sent Jane. "And you know who I am."

"Your pictures don't do you justice," he told her with a smile in his tone, "I admit I'm itching to see your face for myself. The woman that a notorious serial killer can use to bate a man like Patrick Jane. I have half a mind to use you against him myself…"

"You wouldn't do that though…" she trailed off.

She could hear his footsteps on the ground moving closer to her and could see his silhouette stop a few feet in front of her. "And why's that?"

"You may have many faces to the public and the police, but Jane would've figured you out within minutes of coming into your office, and you've seen him in action enough to know what kind of mischief he can cause you if you mess with him," she explained.

She could barely see him cross his arms in front of his chest. "Of course you're right. Tell me how have you managed to work with him all these years?"

"He likes me," she said simply.

This time he laughed out loud. "Is that all it takes? He'll leave you in peace as long as he likes you?"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot. "I never said he leaves me in peace. Now why am I here?"

The room was quiet for a moment. "Collateral."

"I thought you weren't going to use me against him?"

He moved a step closer to her and she held her ground. She didn't know if he was aware that she could see him moving at all and didn't want to give that little bit of knowledge away if he didn't, it would be her only advantage.

"I'm not, I'm going to use him against you."

Lisbon's heart jumped in her chest. "Excuse me?"

"Mr. Jane owes me, but I can tell he's not exactly keen on giving me what I want. You were kind enough to point out what he would do if I hurt you," he stepped forward again, this time right in front of her and it took all her will power to not step back, "but I have a feeling that if I threaten him that you might be a very useful weapon for me against him."

Lisbon felt sick but pushed past it. "What makes you think that I'd care enough to stop you?"

"You followed him here tonight, didn't you?" She saw his hand come up and felt it brush over her collar bone. He picked up a lock of her hair and played with it. "Aside from that I saw a lovely picture of the two you out in the desert holding hands."

She swallowed. "What do you want?"

"First of all, your phone," he told her. She hesitated only a moment before reaching into her coat pocket and handing it to him. "Thank you, I'll return it in a moment." He dropped her hair, walked away from her and toward the door she'd entered. She heard the door open some whispering, the door shut and then heard him making his way back to her side.

"Just my phone?" she asked him.

"No, I also want your silence—for now. You are not to inform Mr. Jane of our conversation, or that you followed him, you are not to exchange your phone or let anyone else know what happened tonight, or I will kill him. I have connections everywhere and I will know if he finds out. If Mr. Jane doesn't follow through on his end of the deal then I will be in contact and we will discuss your further cooperation."

"If he does come through?"

"Then you're free to go, his particular skill set is needed now, but he has proven far too much trouble to keep long term. Besides you're a cop and I have enough problems as it is. Once he follows through I'll be happy to wash my hands of you both."

Lisbon knew his type. If Jane came through for him there would be no way he'd give up on him. Powerful men liked to think they could control Jane and just as Sinclair had said, Jane did have a very handy skill set, too handy for her to think he'd be satisfied just this once. He'd come back over and over again and Jane would then prove he wasn't to be controlled and when that happened, unless she stopped him, he'd be killed.

Sinclair took her arm and led her to a nearby chair. "Have a seat," he told her, "You're going to be here awhile."


	24. Bugged

Chapter 24 Bugged

Lisbon moved around her desk and sat in her chair. She took several deep breaths before pulling her cell phone out of her jean pocket and setting it on her desk in front of her then clasped her hands in her lap. The light shone through the windows of her office with rays from the early morning sun. She was the only one in the office now, but she knew that any moment the team would start coming in, and she had to come to a decision before then.

Her hands lifted from her lap and she hooked her fingers over the top edge of the desk. After she left Sinclair she'd gone home, sat on her couch, placed her phone on the coffee table and stared at it. She wasn't sure what he'd done to it, but he'd had it for well over an hour before they'd returned it to her. Sometime after she'd started staring at it, she'd fallen asleep. She hadn't realized just how tired she'd been. When she woke up that morning she had been so tired still that she'd temporarily forgotten about it until she was half way through her shower. Then she was just glad that she'd left it down stairs.

She fidgeted in her desk chair. There was any number of things they could've done to her phone: it could have a GPS, microphone and camera working; all things that were already on her smart phone being used to spy on her every move. She knew she should take it down to the techie's and have them do a diagnostic, but she also knew that by doing so it was all but daring Sinclair to go after Jane.

She reached up with her right hand and rubbed her face. She could see people starting to trickle in, first Cho and Van Pelt, followed soon after by Rigsby. She was glad she'd shut her office door. This was a mess. She knew that she couldn't allow this to go on forever. A day is the most she could give it. There were far too many things that she could not allow Sinclair to be privy to in the office—dangerous things that could potentially put her and the team at risk. She reached forward and touched the side of her phone.

She saw a curly mat of golden hair walk by and glanced out her windows again as Jane made his way to the kitchen, his back to her, and she exhaled. She had a couple of minutes at most before he found his way to her office, and she knew he would. Last night she'd acted a little irrational when he'd left—she realized that now. She'd allowed herself to get worked up. If she hadn't been so distracted and mad at Jane for leaving without talking to her she never would've let her guard down and now she was paying the consequences. Today, however, she was alert and rational, and she knew that Jane would want to talk about what had happened in the attic.

A chill ran up her spine, when she realized that Jane could read her like an open book. He'd figure out what Sinclair had done, undoubtedly, and would blab openly in front of her phone alerting Sinclair that he knew, unless she could figure out a way to alert him. Her phone rang and she jumped, then grabbed her cell, but it wasn't ringing. She slammed it back down on the desk and picked up her desk phone. "Hello?"

"This is SacPD. We have murder at Central Public Library Downtown and are requesting assistance," a male voice told her.

"Why is our assistance needed?" She picked up her pad and started writing on it when a thought occurred to her.

"The victim is a very vocal activist with lots of enemies, and frankly we don't have the man power or the resources…"

Lisbon rolled her eyes as Jane sauntered up to her door, opened it and leaned against the jamb. "Alright, we'll be there as soon as we can."

Her cell phone beeped as she finished taking down a few notes and finished her call. She looked down and saw a text message from Ryan. She sighed deeply and kept her office phone to her ear as an excuse not to talk to Jane while she read her message. She'd completely forgotten that she was supposed to be going out with Ryan tonight. Jane was abnormally patient standing in her doorway and she was glad. If he was his normal pushy self right now, she'd freak.

She dialed Ryan's number then put her cell to her ear before hanging up her desk phone, avoiding Jane's gaze all the while. She had to break it off with Ryan. The last thing she wanted was to drag him into this, plus more than likely she was going to have her hands full protecting Jane for the next little while anyway.

She cleared her throat, just as Ryan answered his phone.

"Hey Babe," Ryan said.

She grimaced.

He continued, "I wasn't expecting a call."

She stood up from her desk and grabbed her jacket off her coat rack. "I only have a minute, but I thought I'd call you about tonight." She crammed her cell between her neck and her ear and slipped her jacket on.

"We're still on right?" Ryan sounded eager. "I found this amazing little Italian place…"

She stopped him mid-sentence, "Hey Ry, could you hold on a sec." She covered her cell with her hand and finally glanced up at Jane. He was peering at her over his tea cup and his brow was furrowed. Her stomach lurched as the memory of their kiss jumped to the foreground. She'd been successfully not thinking about it since she'd gotten home last night. Admittedly, her current plight had helped in the matter, but now that he was staring at her full on, she couldn't help but remember how sensual it'd been, how soft and yet demanding his lips were and how her entire body had lit up with feeling.

She swallowed deeply and forced herself to speak. "We have a case at the library. Could you let the team know and meet me there?" she asked walking to the door closest to her desk. No way was she going to try and walk past him.

"Or, I could just ride with you?" he offered and even she could feel that he was testing her.

"No," she said a little too loudly. "Just tell the team and meet me at the Sacramento Central Public Library." She turned from him and headed for the elevator. "Ryan, are you still there?"

"Yes," he told her happily.

She knew she should feel bad, but she didn't. As she stepped onto the elevator she told herself that she wasn't relieved to break it off with him—she wasn't, he was a nice guy and even though she hadn't felt anything on there first date, he'd gotten more…more… _interesting_? Besides even if she was the tiniest bit relieved it had absolutely nothing to do with Jane.

* * *

Jane followed closely at Lisbon's heels as she made her way into the Central public Library. He'd left the CBI one elevator ride after her and had called the team from his cell phone. He followed closely behind her all the way to the library and parked right behind her S.U.V. He'd had to run to catch up with her, but at least she wasn't on her phone anymore.

"Lisbon, we need to talk," Jane said right as they walked into the library and his voice echoed slightly in the tall, glass roofed entryway. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her last night, but he couldn't help himself and now she was being distant. He'd always suspected that she had some fear of relationships, but her behavior was much more extreme than he'd ever imagined it would be.

"Shh," Lisbon put her hand to her lips to shush him, which he did, but only because his attention was drawn to her mouth. His stomach flipped.

"Not right now Jane," she told him quietly then glanced down at her phone before shoving it quickly in her jean pocket. "We have a murder to solve." She turned from him and walked and made her way into the main room and then in the direction of the back of the library where she'd been told the murder had happened.

"Lisbon," he tried again in a whisper, but a police officer caught her attention and she walked off in his direction, past honey hued desk and chairs and back toward the stacks.

"Right over here," the young cop said leading them around a several bookshelves finally stopping at the back wall. Jane glanced at the name on the cop's uniform: Officer S. Ballard, before taking in the crime scene. A man lay face first in the lavender carpet—his head in a pool of blood. Books were scattered over the floor, and Jane could see one of the sliding ladders pushed about twenty feet from where the man lie.

"It looks like someone came at him from the side with some kind of weapon, hit him with it, then took off," Officer S. Ballard explained, glancing sideways at Lisbon. He was checking her out. Jane huffed indignantly and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Lisbon rolled her eyes at him before squatting down to carefully look the body over. "Were there any witnesses?" she asked.

The cop shook his head. Lisbon finally looked Jane in the eye. She'd been avoiding it all morning, and Jane had noticed. "Have anything to add?" She stood up again.

Another cop came around the corner catching Lisbon's attention before Jane could answer her question. Jane didn't bother looking for his name, he was well past caring, especially since they weren't actually needed here.

"A man ran out of the library in a real hurry this afternoon," the new cop informed them. "We have video of him, we're tracking him down as we speak." The new cop gave her the once over as well. Of course she was completely oblivious to it like she almost always was, but Jane was finding that he was unexpectedly very irritated with other men showing interest in her even if she didn't realize it.

"Don't bother," Jane told them. Then he turned to Lisbon stepping between her and the crime scene, "I need to talk to you for a moment."

Lisbon shrugged in exasperation. "Jane."

"What do you mean don't bother?" The second cop asked as he stuck his hands on his hips.

Jane looked over Lisbon's shoulder at him and glared. He didn't normally have a good deal of patience with people he thought were stupid, but right now he was at a breaking point. "Just what I said."

"Jane!" Lisbon snipped at him in a stage whisper. "If you have something valuable to offer, now's the time to do it." She stepped to the side and away from him so she could see the body again.

He sighed. There was no way he was going to get Lisbon alone until this was taken care of. He turned back to the scene and pointed to the corner of a nearby bookcase.

Officer S. Ballard spoke first. "Is that blood?"

Jane nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He was standing on that ladder, lost his balance and fell. The ladder was pushed over there," he pointed to where the ladder ended up, "by the force of the fall, he hit his head there," he pointed to the bookcase again, "threw his books and dropped to the carpet here."

Lisbon pushed her black blazer back exposing more of the baby blue button up she was wearing and glared up at him.

Lisbon breathed out. "It was an accident," she said as though it should've been obvious.

"Are you sure?" Officer Ballard asked, scratching his head.

"Ninety-Seven point three percent," Jane spat. He knew he sounded grouchier than he normally did, but he needed to talk to Lisbon, fix things. At very least try and make them go back to how they were before he'd kissed her. He needed her to be her old self around him, not curt and distant.

"We need to talk," he told her authoritatively turning to her again.

Her glare softened, no doubt surprised by his commanding tone. The cops looked between the two of them. Lisbon stepped forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the body. She looked back at the cops, "We'll be right back."

She let go of his arm and let him follow her through the stacks to a more secluded spot in the library. She pulled out her phone and looked at it in a way that Jane thought was slightly suspicious before she shoved it in the inside pocket of her blazer. She looked around making sure no one was around and that they were far enough away from prying eyes, before turning on him. She didn't say anything just raised an inquiring eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

She and Jane stood facing each other for a moment before Lisbon spoke. "You can't just throw a fit in the middle of a crime scene Jane. If you need to talk to me, you can wait until we're driving or in my office."

"Can I? Really, because you've been avoiding me all morning long, and then insisted that we drive separately." He crossed his arms in front of his chest mimicking her defensive stance. "Come on Lisbon, you know you can't lie to me."

She looked at his arms then reluctantly let hers drop, Jane followed suit making her glare again. "Alright, fine," she admitted, "I didn't want to ride with you. Are you happy?"

"No." They both stopped speaking, an uncomfortable air surrounding them. Jane looked at his feet, shoved his hands in his coat pockets and rolled back on his heels. "I never would have kissed you if I thought it would make things this weird between us," he confessed quietly.

Lisbon looked away from him awkwardly and Jane could've sworn she was blushing. "It doesn't have anything to do with that, Jane."

He looked back up at her incredulously. "Oh, come on. Yesterday, we were bantering and getting along just fine, then I kiss you and today…"

"Keep it down," Lisbon scolded raising a hand and lowering it a few times in rapid succession gesturing for him to lower his voice and started looking around nervously.

"…you're avoiding me." He finished more quietly.

"You know what Jane…" She glanced at him trying to collect herself then said as calmly as she could muster, "You think you know me so well, but you can't even tell that I'm not lying right now." Her tone was exasperated, and for a moment he almost believed her.

"Well you're angry about something and since you haven't seen me since we kissed that leaves only one logical conclusion," he told her.

"Jane," she looked like she wanted to punch him. "Ooo, I am so mad at you. You never listen—you, you never let me in on anything. No instead we cycle through the same old things over and over again."

Jane could feel his brow furrow. He'd gone over a few possible scenarios of how this conversation might go, but this was definitely unexpected, and confusing. "I'm not exactly sure what you're playing at, but if you want to get my mind off the fact that we kissed, you're going to have to do a lot better than that?" he told her.

She shifted uneasily and looked down at her blazer, at the spot where she'd put her phone. Her eyes widened as his gaze shifted from her blazer to her face again. "Fine," she said quickly, "let's talk about it."

Jane stood there quietly and stared at her. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him expectantly.

"Well," she said, "talk."

Something weird was going on here. "Oh, you're good," Jane said smiling as he removed his right hand from his pocket and pointed at her, "reverse psychology. You've been hanging around me too much."

She threw her arms up in exasperation. "It's not reverse psychology!"

It wasn't. Something else was definitely bugging her. He thought back briefly and a thought jumped into his head. When he'd first seen her that morning she was staring at her cell phone in her office, and had been glancing at it frequently since they arrived at the crime scene. He thought she was waiting for a phone call from Ryan, but after they'd gotten to the library she'd continued to stare at it. He pointed at the pocket where she'd put her phone. "Lisbon is your…"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, her eyes enlarged on a gasp, she stepped quickly toward Jane slid her hand into his hair, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Jane let out a surprised yelp, and his eyes widened. Still, it only took him a second to reciprocate. He closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her waist and returned her kiss eagerly. As he did, the two of them stumbled backwards and into a bookshelf, knocking several books to the floor with a few loud thumbs. They ignored the books as Lisbon brought her other hand up and into Jane's blonde curls. His hands gripped at her back through her blazer, as she struggled to pull him closer to her.

Okay, he conceded, maybe she hadn't been lying to him about the kiss. He tried to recall the direction their conversation had taken that had led to this, but was having a really hard time focusing on anything other than her lips, the feel of her body against his and how she was enthusiastically running her fingers through his hair. He tried anyway. _Something about her being mad._

"Lisbon," he tried to ask her a question, but she nipped at his bottom lip, effectively making him forget what he was going to say. He tried to recover his thought. _There was something about how she hadn't been mad with me._ He smiled and started running kisses along her jawline.

"Jane," she gasped. "We can't…"

He didn't particularly want to hear the rest of that sentence, and quickly moved his lips back onto hers, crushing her words before they could escape. Her hands slid out of his hair and gripped his shoulders. Then his brain started working again. _She's upset about something,_ he thought. She arched her back up and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing a shiver to run up his spine. He thought hard, _Something I couldn't see, something that has her frequently checking her phone._ He felt her lashes bat against his cheek. _Lisbon's upset. _He was trying really hard to concentrate.

He started to turn her round so her back was against the shelf. She grabbed at it as he did, causing more books to tumble to the ground. _Something that made her not want to be around me this morning and something that could get her to kiss me at a crime scene_. He frowned and pulled away from her, leaving nothing but the sounds of their breathing between them. Lisbon was nothing if not a consummate professional. Sure he hated the idea that she might not want to be around him, but if she was kissing him at a crime scene then something hokey was definitely going on.

"You didn't want to be around me this morning?" He sounded hurt.

"I want to be around you now," she purred as she stood on her tiptoes and tried to kiss him again. He couldn't help but smile, as he bent his head down and into another kiss. His hands went around her waist on the inside of her jacket and he rubbed her back. _This is nice, _he thought, but he had to stop though. He had to figure out what was bothering her. He pulled away again removing his hands from inside her jacket, placed them on her shoulders and opened his eyes.

"Jane," Lisbon moaned in protest, her eyes were still shut, her lips swollen from their kisses. His stomach jumped into his throat.

"No, Teresa," he told her. "We can't." He rested his forehead against hers.

Both of their breathing started to calm and after a moment of heavy intakes of breath, and the rising and falling of both their chests, Lisbon opened her eyes. Jane pulled back and looked at her face curiously. He hadn't forgotten why he'd stopped their kiss, but he pushed it to the side for a moment to assess her reaction to what had just happened. She eyed his mouth hungrily then looked up into his eyes, and he was thrilled to see that she was disappointed.

Then in her typical Lisbon fashion, she pulled herself together, and placed her hands lightly on his chest. "You're right. We can't…" She closed her eyes, and shook her head lightly, then returned her gaze to his and finished her thought "…do this right now."

He liked how that sounded, "_right now."_ His smile broadened.

"We're working," she finished as she grabbed his jacket pockets with both hands. Then it was as if she suddenly realized where she was and that she'd just been scolding Jane about how they needed to work.

Jane's mind reeled and his stomach churned. He wanted so many things all at once. He wanted to pin her against the bookshelf again and kiss her senseless. He wanted to grab her hand and leave the building as quickly as possible. He wanted to tell her how much he felt for her. But he also wanted to know why she had been so distant this morning, why she hadn't wanted to ride with him, and what it was that was making her upset. After this he felt he could safely assume it wasn't their kiss from yesterday, and that thought made him smile.

"Hey, over there," the second cop yelled. "What do you want us to do with this body?"

Lisbon's eyes quickly looked in the direction of the voice, checking to see if they'd witnessed their little make-out session. Jane knew from where the voice had come that they hadn't seen anything, they'd probably heard them knocking books around, but he was sure they hadn't seen anything.

"Yeah. We're coming," Lisbon called back, stepping away from Jane and to the side.

Jane's brow scrunched. She made eye contact one more time, and he could still see so much—desire, longing, and love, but also nerves. Something was happening, something she hadn't told him about, something she had tried to hide by kissing him. The mystery had won out. He needed to know what was bothering her.

Looking disappointed she stepped even further away from him and began straightening out her shirt. Jane ran his fingers through his hair as he pulled himself to his full height. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him gently. He couldn't resist placing one more soft kiss to her lips. She returned it gratefully, smiling broadly as she realized what he was doing. Then they both made their way back to the other two cops.

They stayed for a total of five minutes before leaving and Jane had the satisfaction of watching Lisbon eye him before he got into his car.

"We could've ridden together," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll see you at the office."

He waited for her to leave first then once she was driving, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone—he'd snatched from her jacket when they'd kissed. Something crinkled in his pocket as he pulled her phone out. He placed her phone in his left hand, then opened her recent calls and began scrolling through for anything suspicious while he reached back into his pocket with his right hand. He pulled out a crinkled up piece of paper and started to unfold it while continuing to scroll through her calls. His attention was pulled away from the little piece of paper in his hand as realized that every number in the last day was accounted for.

He sat the phone in his lap and returned his attention to the piece of paper. He straightened it out, and saw nothing, then turned it over to find a message in Teresa's handwriting that read: my phone's been bugged by Sinclair.

Jane's body tensed thinking that Lisbon had been around Sinclair's goons and he panicked when he realized that it must have happened last night. She must have followed him. That was why she'd kissed him in the Library; first because he'd been about to start questioning her and second so she could slip this note into his pocket unnoticed. He was surprised to feel pride that while he'd been lifting her phone undetected she'd been able to slip him a note undetected as well.

He turned his car on and pulled into traffic. Sinclair would now be fully aware that he had her phone and Jane realized that the only way she would have kept it a secret from him was if she was worried about him. Sinclair was obviously using him as leverage against her. He pulled onto the freeway and rolled his window down. He waited until he reached freeway speeds then chucked Lisbon's phone and shatter into several pieces. A car behind him honked.

"Goodbye," he said as he rolled his window back up.

* * *

Lisbon walked into her office and slouched down into her chair. What had just happened? She had just made out with Jane at a crime scene—in a public library nonetheless. Okay, so she'd needed to shut him up and to shove the note she'd written on her notepad earlier into his pocket, but couldn't she have thought of a better way of doing it? She thought of Jane's hands running over her back under her blazer and felt her face heating up. He was a really good kisser.

"Back already?" Van Pelt asked from the doorway.

Lisbon jumped a little in surprise as she looked up at Van Pelt. "Yeah, turned out to be an accident, not a murder. We left SacPD in charge."

"Oh…" Van Pelt's brow furrowed, "are Cho and Rigsby still there?"

Lisbon lurched forward in her chair. "Ah, geese. I completely forgot to tell them." She reached for her phone in her inside pocket only to find it missing, then she searched her other pockets. The phone was nowhere.

Van Pelt stepped forward. "Everything okay, Boss?"

"Yeah, I can't find my phone." As soon as it left her mouth she knew. Jane had picked her pocket. What she'd naively thought was him tenderly rubbing her back had really just been an excuse to get his hands on the inside of her jacket and to her phone. She looked up at Grace. "Would you call them, Grace."

"Sure thing, boss," Grace said before turning and heading to the bullpen.

Lisbon crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled. Jane was going to pay.

* * *

**Hope this stayed in canon enough to be believable. I'd love to know what you think. **


	25. Nip it in the Bud

**A/N Hey all. Sorry it's been taking me so long between chapters. I'm in my last semester of college and am stressed out. I hope you like the chapter.**

Chapter 25 Nip it in the Bud

Lisbon paced the floor in front of her desk in her office. It'd been well over an hour since she and Jane had left the library and he still wasn't back. She tried his cell phone a couple of times, but there was no answer. She figured he probably didn't want to talk to her until he was at the office and could try and placate her about stealing her phone face to face. Either that or Sinclair had gotten to him. A chill ran up her spine at the thought. She shook her head and continued pacing. Sinclair had no intention of doing anything to Jane at this particular moment in time. It hadn't even been twenty four hours since he'd threatened Jane. He wanted Jane's help and killing him wouldn't get it.

She jumped when her phone rang, then quickly stepped to her desk and grabbed the receiver, bringing it forcefully to her ear.

"Hello?" She bellowed into the phone.

"Teresa," Jane said, "Why are you yelling?"

"Jane!" She was so relieved to hear his voice yet furious at the same time. "I'm not…" She pulled the phone away from her face and covered the mouth piece before taking a deep breath. She counted to three, all the while hearing Jane call out her name, then brought the phone back up.

"Where are you?" she demanded in a much quieter voice this time.

"Ah, yes. About that…" Jane said.

Her stomach flipped.

* * *

Jane sat crossed leg on a metal bench that was attached to the one and only cement wall in the room. A man in a torn black t-shirt, wild eyes and a tattoo reading "death" in all capitals on his forehead sat next to him-staring at him.

"Nice tattoo," Jane told the man. "Did it hurt?"

The man scooted close enough to Jane so that he could smell the pungent mixture of sour milk and alcohol on his breath. "Go screw yourself," the man said while continuing to stare.

Jane turned away and crinkled his nose. "Go screw yourself? Hmm." He looked back at the man and tried again. "What are you in for?"

The man leaned away and rested his head against the wall. "Domestic dispute," the man told Jane while smiling wistfully as if recalling something pleasant. "My old lady caught me screwing her best friend and one thing led to another—if you know what I mean."

Jane didn't know what he meant and didn't really want to know either.

The "death" man continued, "What are you in for?"

"Uh… I littered," Jane answered. The man glanced sideways at Jane, face twisted in confusion or disgust. Jane couldn't tell which so he continued, "and then one thing led to another…." Jane rolled his hand forward a couple of times signaling one event leading to another.

"Death" man lifted his fist out in front of him and then pounded it against his chest. "Resist the man. This your first time in the joint?"

Jane's brow furrowed. "Can you really call this 'the joint'?"

The man looked at Jane sideways through bloodshot eyes and Jane had a vivid vision of being stabbed with a shank. "Nope, not my first time," he told the man. "I'm a seasoned veteran. Like you."

The man closed his eyes and smiled broadly, proudly displaying yellow, rotting teeth. "First thing I'm going to do when I get out of here is find my old lady and screw her."

"Oh," he wasn't sure how to respond to that, "how nice for you."

"You got an old lady to screw when you get out?" the man asked hoarsely.

Jane could feel his eyes widening. "Uh, well, no, I don't think my lady would want to uh, 'screw'…me for being thrown in jail."

The man snorted then opened his eyes and looked over at Jane. "Women like bad boys. She'll screw you."

Jane swallowed. "Not mine," then he smirked when he realized how easily he'd placed Lisbon in the mental position of being "his woman," he scrunched his brow and continued, "and she's not even 'my' woman. Not really. She's more like my boss, but not... I'm more to the side of her," he gestured to the side, "than below her."

"I like my woman below me when I screw her…" the man said matter-of-factly.

Jane cringed. "That wasn't what I meant…"

The man leaned over again, this time so rapidly that Jane jumped. "Well, maybe you need to show her who's boss, if you know what I mean."

Jane brought his finger up to his lips and tapped them lightly before answering. "Mmmm." He dropped his hand. "Screwing, right?"

"Damn right." The man leaned away.

This time Jane leaned forward. "How long have you been with your 'old lady'?"

"On and off for ten years," the man told Jane with a little shrug.

"On and off?" Jane asked. "Why do you think that is?"

"She's a woman, fickle, you know," The "death" guy scratched his forehead as though he was confused now too. "She keeps leaving me."

Jane rubbed the pad of his thumb over his index finger. "You don't think it's because you're sleeping with other women?"

The man continued staring in to space then snorted.

"Among other reasons," Jane added quietly.

The man twisted his face up and looked over at Jane. "Nah, I just do that to keep her in line. Show her that other women find me desirable. I don't have to stay with her, I chose to."

"Well, that's… almost a romantic thought. You obviously want to stay with her, right?" Jane asked.

"What are you a psychiatrist?" The man asked.

Jane prodded the man in his arm lightly with his elbow. "You don't want to hurt her, right?"

The man's eyes glazed over. "Nah." He looked up as though thinking the question through. "I mean…"

"Emotionally or physically," Jane continued.

The man shook his head.

"She's a good woman who has been putting up with you for decade. Am I right?"

"Yeah…" the man said, eyes widening, as though he'd just been hit with an epiphany.

Jane jabbed the man with his elbow once more. "So you'll start treating her better? Right?"

"Right," the man said.

Jane smiled. "Good."

"Jane," Lisbon's voice called from outside the cell's bars. Jane looked in her direction and the "death" man snapped out of his haze.

"Teresa!" he said a little more enthusiastically than he'd meant to.

Jane began to stand up when "death" man grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Is that your lady?" he asked.

"Uh," Jane could feel his brow scrunch again. He shrugged.

"Show…her…who's boss," the man instructed, making sure to enunciate every word.

"Right." Jane peeled the man's grease stained fingers off his jacket and moved quickly over to where Lisbon stood. She was standing with her feet shoulder width apart, her arms crossed over her chest and she was frowning at him.

"Teresa," he said slowly as he leaned against the bars and made eye contact.

She shook her head. "What is it? Your personal goal to be locked up once a year?"

Jane raised a hand trying to mollify her. "I understand that you're mad…"

She cut him off. "Mad? Why would I be mad? Hmm, let's see if I understand this correctly." She stepped closer to the bars, her voice cool and calculating. "First you pick-pocketed my phone, then you chucked it out of your car and onto the freeway nearly causing an accident, which then got you pulled over. And because you didn't think that was enough you resisted arrest? Is that about right?"

Jane looked at his shoes and shrugged. "It's all bogus. They never should have arrested me in the first place. I tried explaining to them…"

"Jane," Lisbon's voice raised a little and her right hand pushed her blazer back on the side before resting on her hip, displaying her badge, "You are not above the law. You understand me?"

A hand rested on Jane's shoulder. He looked back as "death" man took a spot next to him.

Then "death" man addressed Lisbon. "He wants to be above you, if you know what I mean." He laughed then turned to Jane. "Man, you didn't tell me your lady was a cop."

"She's a cop," Jane said.

"She's a fox," the man told Jane. "I'd screw her," he cringed lightly then added, "if I didn't have my lady, that is."

"Good, you're thinking of your girl." Jane smiled at him. "That's good."

The man smiled in return. Lisbon was shell shocked and Jane was amused.

"Excuse me?" she asked grabbing their attention again. "Guys."

The man returned his gaze to Lisbon. "Are you a ball buster?" he asked before quickly waving his hand in front of his face as if he were pushing the idea away. He then patted Jane's shoulder a couple of times. "Your man here was just resisting the man, if you know what I mean. He's a decent sort. Good listener, lady."

Jane held back a smile as he watched Lisbon's face contort in confusion.

She glanced between Jane and "death" man then her face hardened. "Step away from the bars," she ordered him in her harshest voice. "Death" man raised both hands and then retreated back to the bench.

"Relax woman," Jane said, unable to resist irking her. "He's just standing up for me."

Lisbon shot him a look that could kill, but he just kept smiling.

"I've a mind to leave you in here," she started.

"Lisbon," Jane said.

She raised a hand warding off his complaint. "Unfortunately, Sinclair is in the mix and the only way I can think of to get him off your back right now is to make you do whatever it is you promised him you'd do."

"That's probably true," Jane agreed as he stuck his hands in his vest pockets.

"You and I are going to have a serious conversation about this," she pointed at him, then she added on as though she'd just thought of it, "and you owe me a new phone."

"Of course." He nodded while ably ignoring the butterflies in his stomach.

She shook her head at him. "I just have to sign some papers." She turned to leave, then stopped and looked at Jane quizzically. "'Your lady'?"

Jane tilted his head back toward "death" man. "He's a romantic."

"So what's the plan?" Cho asked after swiveling his chair away from his computer.

Lisbon looked over at Jane from the corner of his desk, waiting for him to explain. She rested her palms on the edge of his desk on either side of her hips and waited with the rest of the team while Jane gathered his thoughts. He crossed his legs and the leather from the coach squeaked under him.

After a moment he looked at Cho. "Mark Randle won't go down without a fight and I doubt, at this point, that Sinclair will be true to his side of the bargain. We need dirt on both of them and it has to be good, something that'd make both of them give into anything."

Van Pelt turned her chair from her desk and toward the coach. "After we do that, then what?"

"We use it to blackmail them," Jane told them.

There was an audible sigh from the three agents. Lisbon stayed quiet.

Jane continued "We threaten to hand over what we have on each of them to the other."

"Why don't you just threaten to have Sinclair arrested or to expose him if he doesn't leave you alone?" Rigsby asked from his desk.

"I'm just one man," Jane explained. "Killing me would be easy, Randle's organization, however…"

Lisbon finally spoke up. "You want to pit them against each other."

"Yes," Jane said glancing over at her.

Lisbon felt suddenly very ill at his appraisal of her.

"Why do that when we could use Randle to bring him down?" Van Pelt asked. "It'd be nice to get Sinclair out of the picture, wouldn't it?"

Lisbon jumped in before Jane could answer. It seemed so obvious to her now. "We don't want either one of them to have the monopoly," she explained.

Van Pelt slid down in her chair a little while mulling that over. Jane smiled gratefully. The answer Lisbon had given was true and was half of Jane's reasoning. The other reason was that Jane still saw Sinclair as a good potential resource against Red John. Lisbon wasn't going to tell the team that, but she was going to be sure that she and Jane talked about it later. She glanced over at him and he nodded his head knowingly.

"So you intend to give the information that we have on each to the other?" Rigsby asked.

"No," Jane told them. "That would lead to disaster, sooner rather than later. I want to hold it over them, yes, but that's it. Which is why whatever we get has to be good-enough to terrify them both."

"We have Sinclair's identity," Lisbon said aloud glancing out into space as she put her thoughts in order, "so well just need…"

Jane started waving his hand at her to stop her from speaking. "How do you know we have Sinclair's identity?"

Lisbon cut her gaze to him and narrowed her eyes. "You know who he is—don't start." His sober expression changed and a small smile played at his lips. She closed her lips so as not to let any butterflies escape them when her stomach relaxed she continued. "I also know you have a plan, so start explaining."

His face sobered once more and he looked at the floor before he spoke. "I've made friends with Randle's wife. She's lonely, angry and smart. I've set up a good rapport with her."

Lisbon could feel her jaw tightening as he explained.

Jane continued, "She's been thinking of leaving Randle and I've…"

"You've been comforting her," Cho stated before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Jane shrugged and Lisbon's mind went blank. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, how she should feel about it. If she and Jane hadn't kissed she'd be pissed at him for going off on some foolish, impulsive scheme without telling her—like he always did. She didn't want to think about what else she was feeling, so she focused on that.

"Please tell me you got something useful out of it," she said, feeling pleased that she'd managed to sound like herself.

Jane's eyes returned to hers and he began searching her face for emotion. She knew him well enough to know that, which is why she gave him what he would normally expect from her when he'd done something she thought was stupid: indignation. She held his gaze, refusing to be the first to back down. It was several awkward moments of the team fidgeting and glancing between one another before the staring contest ended.

"Not yet," Jane said quietly. "I told her I would see her again tonight."

Lisbon cocked an eyebrow. "And we come in… where exactly?"

"Lisa's clean with me, but her husband isn't stupid. He's been having her followed and she knows it, what I'm worried about is when they put together who I am. I've met Mark Randle before and as soon as he realizes that I've been seeing his wife, well he's not going to be happy."

"You want us to follow you?" Van Pelt asked, eyes wide, voice incredulous.

Jane looked at her and smiled. _Of course he'd be amused by her shock_, Lisbon thought. "That would be nice," Jane answered her.

Lisbon tried not to think about what he meant by "seeing her," and forced herself to focus on the topic.

"Where are you meeting her?" Rigsby asked as he moved to stand by Cho's desk.

"A club, uh, Mix Downtown?" Jane told him.

"Oh yeah," Van Pelt said, "I've heard good things about that place."

Lisbon could feel a smile crossing her lips and tried to stop it, but it was useless. Cho and Rigsby both noticed her amusement, alerting Jane to it also. She lifted her hand and tried to cover her mouth a little, but gave up when she saw Jane's perplexed expression, and smiled out right.

"She wants to take you dancing, at a club with a D.J.?" She said with mirth. "At least it should be entertaining."

Van Pelt leaned forward in her chair. "Have you been there Boss?"

Lisbon's smile dropped and she looked over at Van Pelt. She had actually, with Ryan a week ago today. "Once," was all she said.

"You went there on your date with Ryan last week, didn't you?" Jane asked.

"You went out on a date?" Rigsby asked as he furrowed his brow and placed his hands on his hips.

Lisbon slouched. "What? I date."

"No you don't," Cho said turning back to his computer.

Lisbon didn't look at Jane but she could see him smiling in her peripheral vision. Hadn't she just been making fun of him?

"Who'd you go out with?" Van Pelt asked, oblivious to the irritation Lisbon was sure was obvious on her face. She opened her mouth to answer, but Jane beat her to the punch.

"It was the EMT that hit on her at the hospital last week when she got her stitches out," he told Van Pelt.

Lisbon turned her gaze on Jane and narrowed her eyes when she saw his placid expression. "Moving on," she said in her most authoritative voice. "Rigs and I are going to take the inside of the club, Cho and Van Pelt outside." She stood away from her desk while issuing assignments, then looked at Jane. "What time's your date?"

His expression was blank. "We're meeting there at ten."

She looked back at the team. "Okay, let's meet there at nine to scout things out, and Rigs dress code," she said as she pushed her blazer sleeve up to look at her watch. It was five.

They all nodded.

Jane uncrossed his legs and stood up. "Well, I guess I'll see you all there then," he said and started to leave, but just before he passed Lisbon she stretched out her hand and placed it on his chest, elbow extended, thwarting his escape.

"Stop," she said before turning to face him straight on. "Where do you think you're going?" She could hear Van Pelt's chair squeak as she turned away from them and saw Rigsby turn back to his desk in her peripheral vision, and felt suddenly grateful for Cho's indifference.

"To get ready," Jane told her as if it were obvious.

Her free hand went to her hip. "You're in the scope of two very dangerous men who if they don't want you dead yet, will probably want you dead by the end of the night. You're not going anywhere alone."

He smiled at her with wicked intent. "I wasn't planning on it," he said in a hushed tone that was walking the line between appropriate and not.

Her jaw went back, she swallowed, let her hand drop from his chest and took a step back. "Rigs, stay with him," she said quickly.

"Sure, Boss," Rigsby called from his desk.

Jane's expression dropped. Better to nip that one in the bud before his mind could wander too far. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, raised her jaw and strode off. She wasn't sure why, but doing it made her feel powerful—in control. She hardly ever felt like that around Jane. He wanted to talk to her, and admittedly there were a lot of things to talk about, but she wasn't ready for it. She smiled once she moved out of sight of the others.

_Let Jane make of that what he will,_ she thought.


	26. A Deadly Combination

**A/N: I just want to say a quick than you to everyone who has taken the time to review for me. I'm a little overwhelmed with school right now and unintentionally forgot to respond, but I want you all to know that I am very grateful that you took the time over the last few chapter's to let me know what you think. It's very appreciated!**

Chapter 26 A Deadly Combination

Jane sat down on the couch in Rigsby's living room and was surprised by a loud squeak. He rocked his body to the right and removed a rubber duckie from under his right butt cheek. He smiled then frowned and dropped it on the couch next to him. Okay, so he had intentionally tried to make Lisbon uncomfortable and he supposed having Rigsby following him was a worthy punishment, but he hadn't expected it. He had expected her reaction to his flirting, which is why he'd done it—for the amusement, but her response to the entire situation, as a whole, had thrown him for a loop. He wiggled on the couch until he found just the right spot, then crossed his legs.

The sounds of Rigsby opening and closing drawers and clunking around made its way to Jane's ears from Rigsby's room and Jane rolled his eyes. He'd thought about ditching Rigsby, but Lisbon was already irritated with him enough from having been arrested and he didn't want to throw in any more wrenches, at least not until they talked about what had happened between them.

"Where's Ben?" he called out to Rigsby.

"It's Sarah's week to have him," Rigsby yelled back.

Jane shrugged. He would've liked to have seen him.

"I just need another minute," Rigsby told him.

Jane reached over and picked up the duckie again and squeezed it, then began thinking about how Lisbon had looked earlier when she'd walked away from him. Her chin was held high and her shoulders were back, and even though he couldn't see it on her face her body language and strut had suggested that she was pleased with herself. He was glad she was, maybe whatever it was she'd been thinking in that moment had lessened her temper. She'd obviously felt powerful. Admittedly, he hadn't felt powerful, just confused, but he supposed that was her intention.

A few minutes later Rigsby appeared in his living room once more. He was wearing black slacks and a blue button up shirt.

"You ready?" Jane asked.

"I hate clubs," Rigsby confessed. "I always feel out of place. Which tie?" he asked while holding up two ties. A red one and a blue one.

"No tie," Jane told him.

Rigsby looked at Jane, then back at the ties, then back at Jane. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Rigsby said while laying the ties on the couch. He started rolling up his shirt sleeves, while Jane lifted the duckie to look it in the eye. Then Rigsby spoke again. "So what's going on with you and Lisbon?"

The duckie let out a nervous squeak before Jane realized that he'd squeezed it. He hadn't been expecting that. He dropped the duckie on the pillow next to him. "How do you mean?" he asked casually without looking back at Rigsby.

"Well, it was rocky when you first got back, then everything seemed fine, then she was pretty cold with you all this week. What's going on?" he asked with a shrug.

Jane sighed lightly. It wasn't what he thought. "Oh, that," Jane said as Rigsby finished rolling up his sleeves and looked at him. "Things are fine between us. She was a little stressed last week—her apartment hadn't been repainted yet and she'd started seeing that EMT," he offered as explanations, "but she's fine now." Jane stood up and turned to Rigsby. "Why do you ask?"

Rigsby moved to the counter where he'd placed his keys and his wallet and picked them up. "No reason. We've just noticed that when she's angry at you she's gets sort of cranky with us." He shoved his wallet in his pant pocket. "We were just wondering how long we needed to buckle down for, but if you say she's fine."

Jane had to reign in the smile that was trying to cover his face. He hadn't ever given a lot of thought to the influence her level of irritation with him had on the team. He wasn't unaware of it, he had eyes and ears, but he hadn't ever really cared how the team had felt about it before. He still didn't if he was being honest with himself—right now he was just pleased that his effect on her was profound enough that the team saw it. Ryan couldn't say that.

"She's fine. You ready?"

Rigsby nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Lisbon steered her car over until it was all but hugging the center lane as she passed a bicyclist on her right. The phone she'd picked up from the store an hour before rang, ID reading: Bertram. She was very thankful she'd saved all her numbers to the cloud a month before. As she picked up the call, she also thought that Jane should be grateful for that too. Maybe she'd mention that to him later—when she was ready to upgrade to better phone, on his dime of course.

"Director Bertram," she said.

He cleared his throat. "Agent Lisbon, how are you?"

Lisbon could feel her brow furrow at Bertram's question. He'd never be overtly caring and it surprised her that he'd ask. "Uh, I'm well. Thank you."

"Good, good. I've meant to talk to you since…" he let the sentence drop off. It didn't matter though, she knew exactly what he was referring to—the night Red John had attacked her at the CBI. "Well, anyway," he continued, "I'm glad to hear you're doing well."

She didn't respond to that—honestly had no idea how to, so she changed the subject. "Was there something you needed, Sir?"

"Yes, actually," he was getting right to the point just as she suspected he'd wanted to from the beginning, "I received a call from SacPD this morning, expressing concern over something that happened at a crime scene."

Lisbon swallowed. This wasn't good. She decided it was safer to assume it was about the body. "It wasn't a crime scene, Sir. It was an accident."

"Yes, yes, I know all that," he brushed it aside like it was unimportant.

She pulled into the parking lot of the mall and when her car was stopped she moved her phone from her left ear to her right.

"I was told that Jane was acting very strangely and pulled you away to talk to you about something. Then after you walked away, they heard crashing noises from where you two had gone."

"Noises, Sir?" She could feel her face heating up.

"Yes, like books falling? Want to explain to me what that was about?"

Lisbon let her head drop into her hand and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she quickly thought up an excuse.

"Jane had a lead on another case that he thought was very important and didn't want to discuss it in front of anyone. When we were heading back I walked into a cart and a bunch of books fell off of it."

"Hmmm," Bertram said.

She shook her head lightly. "Why, what did they think happened?" she dreaded asking, but decided it'd be better to know what she was fielding.

"They seemed to think there was some sort of altercation between the two of you. I wouldn't even have called you, but I get nervous when Jane is involved in, well, anything. If they thought it was a big enough deal to call me, then I have to considered it a potential disaster, especially where Jane is concerned," he warned. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I do, Sir, and I talked to Jane about proper crime scene decorum." The words came out of her mouth quickly and she was glad that they were at least true, but she felt like such a hypocrite. Okay, so she'd kissed Jane to shut him up, but had she really needed to make out with him? No. She could feel her face turning red and was just thrilled this call hadn't come through when Jane was near enough to discern what was going on.

"Will he listen to you?"

That caught her off guard and felt strangely like a sucker punch. "Yes," she told him keeping herself calm despite the irritation she felt. "I think he will."

"Good, make sure that he does." There was an awkward silence before he spoke again. "I'm glad to hear you're doing well."

Lisbon thanked him once more and hung up the phone, then let her head drop to the steering wheel with a soft thud. That had been a close call and she was suddenly regretting that she hadn't pulled Jane aside earlier to talk to him about what had happened between them. At the time she had been more concerned about getting the situation with Sinclair under control, but now she was realizing the error in her judgment. He'd already flirted with her in the office, and practically right in front of the team. She guessed that he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but work absolutely had to be separated from, well, whatever was going on between them.

She wasn't even totally sure if she wanted whatever this was to continue. Sure he was a great kisser and sure she felt butterflies in her stomach when he looked at her, and sure she'd been having fairly erotic sex dreams about him, but she also knew that she could very probably be making her feelings for him something more than what they really were because of what they'd been through over the last year. Not to mention, she'd always been very protective of him and vice-a-versa, and she'd thought she'd lost him and he'd thought he'd lost her.

"That's what it is," she said sighing in relief. "We're just afraid of losing one another and the kissing is merely a manifestation of our need to keep that from happening."

She opened her car door and made her way into the mall, feeling a little weird about going to buy a dress for a case. It'd been awhile since she'd gone undercover in a situation that required her to wear something other than her normal work attire. She'd considered wearing the dress she'd worn to the club last week but she'd stood out, unintentionally of course, and for some reason she didn't want to show up in the same dress she'd already worn. It was so very unlike her, but nonetheless those feeling were now responsible for her walking into the same shop where she'd bought the blue dress last week.

She knew exactly what she was going to buy, because she'd eyed it last week. It was a dark peach dress, that hung lose over her torso and tightened around her butt and legs. It had long sleeves and was designed to hang off one of her shoulders, and ended a couple inches above her knees. She thought it was an incredibly sexy dress, but also offered a little bit of modesty. She decided it would work well with her black leather jacket as well, and needed her jacket so she could keep her gun hidden on her person.

She moved fast walking directly to the dress, pulling her size down, then walked over to where boxes of shoes where stacked with the model shoe sitting on top and found a pair of gold strappy heels that she'd also eyed last week, found her size and made her way to the cashier. She always been told that it was smart to try things on at the store, but could never bring herself to do it. She'd always been able to easily see if an outfit or pair of shoes would fit her well and hated dressing rooms, so she never bothered.

The cashier rung her up as she pulled her credit card out of her wallet and tapped it on the counter.

"This is an adorable dress," the girl at the register told her. "Just your color too."

Lisbon smiled at her and handed her the credit card before she could talk herself out of it. It was her color. She knew that, but she'd always gone for colors that were safer: black, green, blue. She'd almost bought this dress last week instead of the navy blue dress, but had chickened out, deciding that it might be too much for her first date with Ryan.

She had plans tonight though, and thought it would be a good idea if she stood out. Was actually counting on it and thought about how fortunate it was that Lisa Randle had picked the same club she'd been to last week, where she knew she'd be recognized—especially after the incident. The girl wrapped up the shoes and dress for her, then Lisbon thanked her and left. She had two hours. Just enough time to get home, change and do her hair and makeup.

* * *

Jane and Rigsby made their way to the CBI van that was parked down the block from the club. It was nine-thirty and Jane wanted to get inside before Lisa showed up. He wanted to pick a spot where he could keep an eye on what was going on around him, keep an eye out for anyone following Lisa and to make sure he could see Lisbon and Rigsby. Okay, mostly Lisbon.

While he was flattered by her jealousy, he didn't think it was a good idea to propagate it. And while he'd found her kisses at the library encouraging, he also saw her over thinking as the day had gone on. He wasn't really sure what was happening between them, but he didn't want to kill it before they even had a chance to talk about it. He wanted to speak to Lisbon before he went in. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he needed to say something to her, something to assure her that his relationship with Lisa was innocent. He knew everyone had made completely predictable, albeit wrong assumptions about his relationship with her.

When they reached the van Rigsby knocked on the back and Cho opened it allowing them entrance. Cho and Van Pelt looked over at them.

Van Pelt smiled. "You guys look nice."

"I didn't even change," Jane responded. "I look the same as I always do."

She tsked. "You combed your hair," Van Pelt said through a chuckle before returning her gaze to the monitor.

Cho reached up to his ear and touched it then spoke. "They're here boss."

Jane's stomach dropped as he noticed that one of the monitors showed a camera that was moving across the darkened club, next to a man Jane assumed was the manager. He couldn't see Lisbon so he knew the camera had to be pinned to her somehow. She'd already gone in.

"Right," Cho responded. "I'll tell them."

The man on the monitor smiled at Lisbon and Jane couldn't help but notice that when Lisbon was giving Cho her orders, the man looked Lisbon up and down.

"He's totally checking her out," Van Pelt said half amused and half irritated by the man's unprofessionalism.

"Boss wants you to go in separately," Cho told them, but Jane's eyes were locked on the monitor. Cho continued, "She figured you'd want to go in first, Jane, to scope it out."

Jane watched as the man reached toward Lisbon, then he disappeared from sight and they were moving again.

"Jane," Cho repeated.

Rigsby elbowed Jane in the side. "Jane."

He jumped and his attention was pulled from the screen. "What?" he asked. They were all staring at him with completely perplexed expressions. "Right, yes, I'll go in first." He turned from the van.

"Wait," Van Pelt called after him. He turned back. "You have to put on a wire, you know, so we can hear you."

"Oh," he looked at the screen again as the man ushered Lisbon into what looked like a very small and secluded office. Suddenly he couldn't care less about the wire, but knew he had to put it on or Lisbon would be pissed. "Right—let's get it on quickly." He tapped his watch. "Lisa will be here soon."

The team looked at each other, then helped him get the wire and camera on quickly, despite his whining that they were moving too slowly. He made his way to the club quickly and once inside, looked around for Lisbon. It was still early so it was relatively empty. There was a small smattering of people throughout, and Jane suspected it wouldn't be long before it started filling up.

There were several tables, a hand full of booths and a bar to the right with glass mirrors behind it and glass liquor bottles on shelves in front of the mirrors. Light was set above every shelf so the light from the many liquor bottles reflected out onto the bar's counter, in shades of white, red, blue, brown, green amongst many others. Past the tables there was a dance floor with a D.J., behind that were pool tables and behind that were the restrooms, stairs leading to the roof where a there was a fire pit, an office and an emergency exit.

He couldn't see Lisbon anywhere and assumed she was still with the manager. He fought the urge to call her out and found a perfect booth instead where he had a good view of eighty percent of the club. He sat down on the black leathered seats, crossed his legs and rested his hand on the silver topped table.

"I'm seated in a booth in the back," he spoke into his collar.

He waited for a minute before he heard Lisbon. A small laugh finished as she began to speak. "All right, Jane. I'm with the manager, Craig. He's helping us out tonight."

"Anything for the girl who beat the pride out Jake," he heard a man's voice in the background. "Think we'll get a repeat performance tonight?"

Jane heard Lisbon swallow before she spoke. "I don't think so. Working." Her voice was light and friendly.

"Too bad, the guys were all excited when you came into night, but were happy to help."

"Thank you," Lisbon told him. "Jane, stay put. I'll be out as soon as Lisa takes a seat at your table. Rigs?"

"Boss?" Rigsby's voice called through Jane's earpiece.

"Come on in now, see if you can't get a table near Jane's and pick one with a couple ladies at it, or invite someone to come sit with you. I don't want you standing out," she told him.

"Right," Rigsby complied. Jane watched as people began streaming in the doors.

"Grace," Lisbon continued, "you keep an eye on the monitors and Cho you watch the front doors for anyone who might be following Lisa."

"Okay," Grace said as Cho said, "Will do."

"Teresa," Jane spoke as he tapped the table with his fingers. He wasn't sure why he'd said her first name, especially when the others could hear, but he plowed on anyway. "We need to talk."

There was an awkward silence followed by, "Later, Jane."

He was about to protest, but stopped when he saw Lisa walk in and look around. She was a petite woman like Lisbon, but slightly curvier, with caramel colored hair, a little more makeup than he preferred on a woman and she was wearing a slinky red dress. Jane swallowed, before rationalizing that they were at a club. She hadn't necessarily worn that dress for him. It took her a second to find him at the booth—she smiled, waved and made her way through the crowd.

"She's here," he said. Then stood as she approached the booth. He took her hand and guided her into the seat across from him.

"I wasn't sure if you'd actually come," she said as Jane took a seat.

Jane shrugged. "Our talks have been cathartic for me as well."

He heard Cho clear his throat, then say. "She's hot. No wonder you took off your ring."

Jane kept his eye on Lisa, but his thumb reached out to his left hand ring finger and rubbed the bare spot where his wedding band had been. He'd taken it off last night when Sinclair had forced him to go see Lisa. It'd been one of the hardest things he'd done in a long time, but he decided it was necessary to catch Lisa's attention.

His brow furrowed as he realized, that despite how hard it had been to remove, he hadn't actually thought about it since he'd done it almost twenty-four hours ago.

"You took your ring off?" Van Pelt belted into his ear and he had to fight from cringing in pain.

The silence from Lisbon was what most worried him. He wasn't exactly surprised that Cho had noticed when no one else seemed to, but he wished he hadn't said anything. Now he really had to talk to Lisbon. What if she thought he'd taken it off because he had feelings for Lisa, or worse, what if she panicked thinking he'd taken it off because of their kiss last night? This was Lisbon after all and she was absolutely a flight risk. He glanced down at his bare finger and sighed lightly, almost forgetting that Lisa was right in front of him.

She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, covering his ring finger. "It was hard for you, taking it off, I can see that."

Jane looked up into her hazel eyes and smiled. He liked Lisa, she was nice. She'd made some dumb decisions in her life, but she was a good person. He nodded, "Yes, it was, but it was time." He leaned toward her. "Just like it's time for you to move on."

"I remember our agreement, Patrick. You don't have to worry about that," Lisa said. She let go of his hand and leaned back in her seat. "You certainly kept your end of the bargain."

He just barely noticed as a bit of orange passed in his peripheral vision, but he kept his eyes on Lisa. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked Lisa.

She smiled then looked around warily. "I think I could use a drink," she told him.

He smiled lightly at her. "What would you like?"

"Something fruity I think. It's been awhile since I've been out. Maybe a Pina Colada. That's sounds good."

"Be right back." Jane scooted out of his chair and made his way toward the bar. He caught a glimpse of Rigsby chatting up a young lady at the end of the bar and smiled. One of the bartenders stood in front of a woman in a leather jacket and a peach dress. That was the orange he'd seen earlier. He moved to the bar, and ordered two Pina Coladas from the other bartender. He pulled a twenty out of his wallet when a soft throaty laugh, that Jane recognized immediately as Lisbon's, found its way to his ears.

He turned his head abruptly in the direction of the laugh and was floored. The woman in the peach dress was Lisbon. Her legs were turned in his direction and were crossed. She was wearing strappy heels, her hair was flowing in soft curls over her shoulders and her makeup was spot on—just enough to accent her features in a way he'd never seen, not even the night of Erica's banquet. She continued to laugh at whatever it was the bartender was saying to her, then took a sip of what he knew was a virgin margarita. He always thought she was beautiful, but Lisbon in this dress was a deadly combination. If she were on the prowl tonight there wouldn't be a man who would stand a chance. The color of the dress made her skin glow and eyes stand out, and her legs…

The bartender returned and handed him his Pina Coladas and Jane absentmindedly handed him the twenty telling him to keep the change. Then he returned his gaze to Lisbon. The bartender she'd been talking to moved away from her to take an order from someone else, and Lisbon, without even looking at him spoke directly to him in a whisper through his earpiece.

"Stop staring, Jane," she told him. "Your date will be offended."

* * *

**A/N: I try really hard to keep the characters IC, so I hope that Lisbon didn't seem to OCC for you. I'm pretty sure she's a lot flirtier and sexier than they like to show us, but there's been a few hints here and there, and I just really want to see more of it. I'm trying my best to remain truthful to her, but also to show the side of her that they suppress a lot.  
**

**Also if you look back at chapter 23 Collateral, right after Jane is escorted out to see Lisa, this is the moment Jane decided to take off his ring. I knew it'd be a big deal, so I hope that I'm doing it justice so far. I feel like his ring is almost another character in the show, so I'm trying to handle it just right. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! **


	27. Seeing Red

**A/N: I'm done with school. Yay!**

* * *

Chapter 27 Seeing Red

Once Jane had picked his jaw up off the floor he turned back to his drinks, picked them up and started making his way back to the table where Lisa sat. Unable to resist, he took a quick glance over his shoulder again and watched as the bartender made his way back to Lisbon. He also made note of several other men checking her and her legs out as they passed her. One even stopped briefly to talk to her. He felt a growl moving up his throat and choked it down.

He took a deep breath and kept walking. It wasn't as if Jane hadn't noticed how beautiful Lisbon was before, or like he hadn't noticed her legs, of course he had. He was a man after all and she had great legs. Even though she was a tiny woman—petite and only a few inches over five feet, her legs looked like they went on forever. He'd teased her about them before and had openly admired them, but this was different. Things were different now. Before they'd been Lisbon's legs—now they were Teresa's.

Those legs belonged to the woman who, he now knew from personal experience, had lips smoother than satin, a woman who knew how to playfully tease and flirt with him and whose fingers had run through his hair only a few hours before. All of that made those legs infinitely sexier than he'd ever imagined they could be and even he had to admit that that was saying a lot.

He skirted a table as he came to his booth, then gave Lisa her drink before he sat down and took a large pull from his, draining half of it.

Lisa watched him warily as she took a sip then said, "Are you okay?"

He'd managed to keep his eyes off Teresa after sitting down, and he'd continue to keep them off her. He had to remember that he was here for a reason. He needed to focus on that now, and Teresa's legs later.

"Just peachy," he choked a little on his slip of tongue. "I'm fine."

Lisa's brow furrowed momentarily then she leaned back. "Is it that co-worker you were telling me about?" she asked. "Teresa?"

Jane couldn't help but smile a little. Of course this could spiral downhill really fast if he let it. Lisbon would not be happy if the team got wind of his feelings for her. It wasn't like he'd even said that much about her, only that things had been tense at work with his partner. Still, he was secretly thrilled that Lisa said her name now. He knew exactly what Teresa would make of it, especially after he made sure she would.

"Teresa and I fixed our problems earlier today," he said in a very pleased tone. "We had a chance to…talk about it while working a case this morning."

He heard Lisbon clear her throat in his ear piece, and felt a warm feeling in his gut.

"I'm glad. You were really distracted last night." Lisa leaned forward. "I thought..."

This was exactly where he didn't want it to go. "No." He leaned forward and took her hand that she had sitting lightly on the table next to her drink. "Thank you for asking, but that's not really why we're here now. Is it?" He made eye contact with her.

She shook her head lightly.

Jane smiled a devilish smile and Lisa blushed. "You look lovely by the way," he told her.

Jane watched as Lisa glanced down at his hand atop of hers, watched her slide her hand out from his before lifting her drink and taking a big swig. She sat her drink back down, reached into her top and removed a thumb drive, then slid it across the table to Jane.

"Did she just pull something out of her cleavage?" Rigsby's voice asked in his ear.

He heard Lisbon's muffled voice say, "Not tonight."

Jane had to fight with himself to not look at who Lisbon just shot down. He picked up the thumb drive, smiled again and glanced at her chest. "What else do you keep in there?"

Lisa chuckled nervously, but Jane could tell she was pleased with the attention he was giving her.

"Not quite as nice as the little sweater you had on yesterday, though." He waited a

second more before speaking again. "What is it?"

"It's what you were looking for."

As Jane pocketed the thumb drive he saw a quick movement of black and peach in his peripheral vision, but kept his eyes on Lisa. "Thank you."

"Patty, my husband had some of his men follow me here. If they don't know about this yet, they will soon. I don't expect to live past tonight."

Jane searched her face for the lie, but it wasn't there. She was scared. "Why would you take that kind of risk?" he asked taking her hand.

"My husband was a different man when I married him. I don't like who he's become and even more than that, I don't like who I've become. I wanted to make a difference, just once." She smiled lightly. "Besides, you're really cute. If I'm going to die, might as well spend the night with a handsome devil." This time she gave _him_ a wicked grin and Jane swallowed.

* * *

Lisbon watched as a tall man with light brown hair and gray eyes made his way in her direction and sat a stool away. He ordered a drink and the bartender ribbed him for having lost to her last week. She avoided the urge she had to drop her head in her hand. He took a sip, then addressed her without looking at her.

"Up for round two?" Jake asked.

She glanced over at him and shook her head. "Not tonight."

"Scared?" he asked her.

"She's not scared," the bartender winked at her, "she has no reason to be."

Lisbon smiled, got up from her chair and headed toward Craig's office. She tried to ignore Jane's flirting, tried to rationalize that he was just playing a part to get the information they needed. It was Lisa's statement that she thought she would be killed tonight that had stopped Lisbon in her path. She turned and looked at Lisa from across the room and stumbled a little. Lisa was smiling at Jane and being coy.

Lisbon's stomach flipped, but she ignored it. This was no longer about getting Jane past her guards—now it was about saving Lisa's life. She ducked into a quiet spot to the side of the bar, by the wall so she could more privately talk into her mic.

"Guys, did you hear what Lisa just said?" she asked.

She heard them all answer in affirmative followed by Cho. "What's the new plan, Boss?"

"Van Pelt, I want you to stake out the back exit, make sure it's clear. Cho, get in here."

"On my way."

'Rigsby, stick close to Jane and Lisa," Lisbon said.

"Got it," he said before heading to their table.

Lisbon continued. "I'm going to find Craig and see if he…"

"Boss," Cho said. "Randle's men are here."

Lisbon pulled away from the wall and looked toward the entrance as three bulky men came through the front doors. There was no mistaking it. These men were thugs, not patrons. They were scanning the room, looking for their target and separated shortly after they came in. Cho followed in shortly after.

He spoke into his mic. "Three more went around back and there are two more waiting in a vehicle out front."

"Van Pelt, don't go around back," Lisbon ordered, quickly revising her plan. "There's no way we're getting her out the back doors. We have to assume that these men will try and kill her if they see her." She watched as one of the thugs made his way toward Jane's table. She was about to warn Rigsby, but he saw the man, stood up and moved casually in front of Lisa before he could see her. She let out a deep sigh and continued watching quietly as two of the three men continued searching the front of the club. The third sat on a stool with his back to the bar and continued scanning the room.

"Boss," Cho interrupted her train of thought, "I think three more just came in."

"Damn it," Lisbon cursed under breath. She glanced around as the men started spreading out. "Okay, new plan…"

* * *

Jane kept his casual conversation with Lisa up. He knew she'd react in a less than helpful way if she saw Randle's men coming in. He smiled with her and flirted a little more, all the while listening to Lisbon giving the team orders.

"Van Pelt, call SacPD," Lisbon said. "Tell them to get here as fast as you can. Cho, you'll be my eyes, and Rigsby you stick to Jane and Lisa."

"Right," Cho and Rigsby said at the same time as Van Pelt said, "What are you going to do, boss?"

Jane forced a light smile to an endearing story about Lisa childhood while also listening intently. He wanted the answer to Van Pelt's question also.

"Cause a distraction." Lisbon was cool and resigned. "Jane, you need to get Lisa upstairs onto the veranda…right now."

He nodded even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Lisa, why don't we head up to the roof? I hear they have fire places up there."

She blinked furiously at him and smiled. "Sure, sounds nice."

He stood up, offered her his hand and helped her stand. When she turned to grab her drink Jane saw Lisbon strutting her way to a man at the bar.

Jane's throat dropped into his stomach as he forced himself to place his attention back on Lisa and guide her upstairs. It took all his willpower not to look back at Teresa, especially when she started speaking.

"Okay Jake," her voice lowered and was smooth as honey. "I change my mind."

"And why's that?" Jake asked, trying to sound cool, but Jane knew that tone. It was the tone men used when they were trying to be aloof with a woman they were really interested in.

Jane moved slowly with Lisa to the back of the club. It was jam-packed by now and they had to push through the crowds.

"Boss," Cho said, "if you're planning something, you've got to hurry. The men are starting to move past the booths now."

Lisbon laughed. "Who's chicken now," she simpered.

Jane could hear the sensuality in her voice and as he and Lisa crossed the dance floor. It was then that Lisa caught him off guard when she turned, grabbed his shoulder with her free hand and did a little dance to a song talking about promiscuous girls. He took the opportunity to look back toward the bar and could now see Lisbon strutting her way quickly in his direction, with a man following in tow. She gave him a dirty look when she saw Lisa's little dance, then nodded her head signaling for him to move. He grabbed Lisa's shoulders bringing her attention back to his face, then he slowly let his hands slid down her arms, causing her to shiver.

"You're driving me crazy," Lisa whispered to him.

Lisbon snorted in his ear.

He leaned forward and whispered in Lisa's ear. "Upstairs."

Lisa shivered again, but turned taking his hand in hers and led him through the dance floor, shaking it the whole distance.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the D.J. suddenly announced as they reached the stairs. "The ever fierce yet tasty Teresa Lisbon has issued another challenge to our resident pool champ, Jake Hollingshead. If you weren't here last week to watch her hand him his weak excuse for a game on a platter, then you are in for a treat tonight."

The crowd cheered and laughed.

Jane looked back before climbing the stairs as seemingly everyone in the club started to cramming around the pool table and his flirty, frightening partner.

_She plays pool?_

Rigsby filled the stairwell behind him blocking his view of Lisbon racking the balls and glared at Jane to move.

When they reached the roof, Lisa led him to a couch next to one of the fireplaces and sat down. There weren't many people on the roof which was good, but if those men somehow managed to get past the throng of people, they'd be screwed. There was no way out except back the way they'd come. He watched as Rigsby took a seat with a couple of young ladies by the stairs, positioning himself to see down them, then Jane sat down himself.

"SacPD's ETA is ten minutes," Van Pelt said.

"Why don't you break, Jake," Lisbon suggested in a throaty tone. She was flirting and Jane couldn't help but to grimace.

"Oh, no," Jake responded in turn. "Ladies first, I insist."

"Boss," Cho said. "That crowd isn't going to stop these men for ten minutes."

Jane unbuttoned his suit jacket and leaned back in the sofa. Lisa moved closer to him and leaned into his side.

"This is nice," she said grabbing onto his lapel.

Jane glanced down at her and smiled. "It's a nice night," he agreed grudgingly as he heard Lisbon's flirty laugh in his ear.

He did not like how this was turning out. He didn't enjoy Lisa close proximity, or his distance from Lisbon, or the image he had of her bending over to take a shot. He didn't like that this had spiraled so out of control that Lisbon had to cause a scene to protect Lisa, or that Lisa was even in danger. That was his fault, he knew, but this was not what he would have guessed. He looked down at his watch as Lisa sidled a little closer: seven minutes until they had back up.

* * *

Lisbon shrugged at Jake and leaned down over the table, lining up her shot and knocking her third ball in a row into a pocket.

"At this rate," the DJ chirped from his perch, "she's going to finish you off even faster than she did last week.

She hit another in, not missing the fact that Jake and several other men were taking the opportunity to check her out. This had been the reason she'd bought the dress. After last week's game she knew exactly what her contingency plan was going to be. Still, the whole situation made her feel downright filthy. She promised herself a nice long bath when this was all over.

Jake looked at the DJ and shook his head. "We'll see." The crowd was tightening around them—enjoying the banter as much as the game.

She missed the next shot intentionally, looking for an excuse to move around to the other side of the table for a better look at the crowd.

Jake crowed at her miss. "The game's mine now, sweetheart." He winked at her. She smiled back, then continued her search. There were too many people and she couldn't see the men she was looking for, or Cho.

She leaned her ear to her shoulder and whispered, "Cho?"

Cho came into view. His eyes bulged. "On your nine!"

She glanced to her left. There stood one of Randle's men. He was just about past the last grouping of people. She knew very well what would happen if he made it upstairs. She reached for her gun, and stopped. There were too many people. She made a snap decision. She shoved the man directly to her right out of the way. Her pool stick whipped around and into the thug's neck. He dropped to the floor with a thud.

The crowd grew quiet. Everyone was trying to process what had just happened.

"He just grabbed me," Lisbon shouted feigning indignation. Randle's other men started pushing through the mass toward her. One drew a gun. Her eyes grew wide. She swallowed a cuss word. Then all hell broke loose.

Screams and panic filled the room. She watched in slow motion as he pulled the hammer back. Her stomach lurched. Jake stepped in front of her. She acted without thinking. She grabbed Jake and dropped to the ground. Bullets flew over their heads. She cringed into his chest. She looked up and searched for the shooter. He fired off two more rounds in her direction. She shut her eyes, grabbed Jake's lapels and rolled him under the pool table, landing on top of him again.

"Boss," she heard a shout. She didn't have time to answer.

She looked at Jake. "You okay?"

He nodded lightly.

"Stay down," she ordered. She scooted out the back of the table.

"Boss, should I help?" Rigsby asked.

"No, stay with Lisa!" Lisbon shouted. She picked up a pool stick. She stood up in time to see Cho take the man with the gun out. Another of Randle's men advanced on her. She lunged at him with her pool stick nailing him in the gut. He crippled over. She advanced toward another thug.

Everything moved fast. She and Cho fought against the throng of fleeing civilians and Randle's men. She was vaguely aware as both she and Cho took down another man each. Barely aware of Jane's and Rigsby's voices in her earpiece. Barely aware as a huge man stepped in front of her and grasped her arms.

The man shook her violently. She dropped her pool stick and her earpiece fell out. When he stopped shaking her, she blinked dazedly. She plowed a heel down into his steel toed boot. He smiled at her and lifted her effortlessly from the ground.

She flailed and kicked pointlessly. He stopped lifting her when she was at eye level. He started bringing her into his body. He licked his lips fervently the closer she got.

"Lisbon!" Jane's voice managed to catch her attention. She looked over her attacker's shoulder. Jane was running in her direction.

Pure fury and hatred filled her. She brought her head down and into her captors with a loud thwack!

Then she saw Red.

She was barely aware of landing on her feet as the man crumpled to the ground in front of her. She was only really aware of the images in Red flashing through her mind. Jane kissing her in the attic. The pillow Red John had stuck under her head. Jane in his fugue state. Lorelei saying she'd heard so much about her. Jane telling her he loved her then brushing it off later. Red John telling Jane he'd be giving her to Jane as a gift. Jane getting into Erica Flynn's limo. Jane grabbing her hand in the desert. Not sleeping for six months while Jane was off coning Red John. And her. And the team. Jane clutching her to him in her office. Lorelei trying to make her jealous with talk of how Jane was in bed. Jane hiding from Katharine in the interrogation room. Jane shoved against a cupboard in Aria's kitchen.

Jane.

Jane.

Jane.

Red.

Red.

Red.

Sam.

"_Don't make me go there, Sam." Lisbon looked away from Sam Bosco. _

_His brow furrowed. "What are you saying exactly?"_

"_You know what I'm saying." She tried to hold his eyes, but found she couldn't. "I'll talk about what happened eight years ago."_

_He stared her down and when he spoke his voice was unmistakably sad. "You'd go there? Really?" He shook his head at her. "I don't believe you."_

"_Believe me. Here I am." This time she did hold his stare._

_She watched as he fidgeted. "You would ruin our lives, _our _careers…over Jane? Does he mean that much to you?"_

_She shrugged "He closes cases."_

"_He closes cases," Sam jumped on her response. "Is that all it is?"_

_Her mouth dropped open and she looked at him dumbfounded by his presumption then quickly stood up out of her chair. She shook her head then turned to address him once more. "I'm telling you if you don't let Jane go, I'll talk. That's all." _

_Sam swallowed. _

"_What are you going to do?" she asked. Then quietly left his office. _

Her thoughts vanished and she was back in the club.

Everything was a crystal clear.

Red.

"How could I have been so stupid?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. For some reason this chapter was a real nightmare for me. It was hard to write, then when it was done I kept rereading it, thinking something seemed off. It's also the first time I've done a flashback like this. Anyway, I hope it worked.  
**

**Also for anyone who's interested, I put a tag out for 5x22 called I have Dishonesty In Me, with my theories about how Red John got Jane's memory. **

**Thanks for reading and having patience with me between posts. Good news is the next chapter is nearly done so you shouldn't have to way too long for it!**


	28. Bruises, Lists and Dissociative Fugue

Chapter 28 Bruises, Lists, and Dissociative Fugue

Lisbon sat on the edge of one of the fire pits, next to a stack of cocktail napkins, up on the roof of the club and slowly pulled her arms from her jacket. She cringed as the fabric rubbed over sore skin.

Van Pelt and the SacPD had come bursting on the scene seconds after she and Cho had started fighting with Randle's men. They'd also managed to get the three in the back and the two in the car out front. It was mostly a blur. This happened to her on the rare occasions that things get totally out of control like they had. She knew that everything would clear up after a good night's rest. What she did know, was from what she'd heard from the team. She knocked out three guys and had stunned a fourth with her headshot and Cho had done some damage also. SacPD had been wide eyed and more than a little impressed. Rigsby had stayed upstairs where she'd ordered him and Jane. Jane however had blown his cover, had told Lisa this had been a sting, and while Rigsby hadn't said anything, she was sure by a few wary glances in her direction that Jane had tricked him somehow so he could run down and try and help her.

She shook her head at Jane's foolishness. He was down with Lisa now, getting her settled with the police that were taking her to a safe house tonight. She felt agitated as she appraised her marred flesh. She was going to have nasty bruises all over her arms. She reached up to her head and softly touched the spot where she'd hit Randle's man, then cringed away from her fingers and hissed.

"You shouldn't do that," a low male voice said.

She looked up and was surprised to see Jake walking in her direction. "What are doing up here? You're supposed to be giving your statement to the police."

He smiled at her, and she forced herself to smile back despite her opposing inclinations.

Then he spoke. "I did that already. They told me you were up here, I wanted to see if you

were okay."

She looked back down at her arms and wished she'd left her jacket on. He stopped in front of her and reached out a tentative finger to a bruise. She grasped his wrist before he could touch her. "What are you doing?"

"You saved my life, you know." He made eye contact. "I'd like to make it up to you."

"That's not necessary." She dropped his hand.

"Is this because of that guy you were here with last week?" he asked obviously disappointed by her lack of interest.

She looked away. "No, it's because I'm not interested."

"All right," Jake told her. "But I'm not deterred. You'll be here again."

She smiled. "Don't hold your breath."

He leaned forward and spoke quietly. "Thank you."

She nodded at him kindly then watched as he retreated to the stairs and was surprised when she saw Jane leaning against the railing, legs crossed in front of him, hands in his pockets, staring at her. She felt her chin go back, then looked down and quickly put her jacket back on. It was dark enough that she was sure he wouldn't have seen her bruises from where he was.

She was perfectly aware of his footsteps moving in her direction. "Hey you," he said.

"Hey yourself," she responded.

He stopped in front of her. "Well, that was an eventful night, eventful day really."

She laughed, unable to stop herself. Not because she thought it was particularly funny, but because it was better than crying. "You can say that again."

She was staring at her hands, but could feel his eyes on her looking her over. "I didn't think it would get this out of hand…"

"Jane, it wasn't your fault. Not directly anyway," she teased then finally looked up at him.

He was smiling lightly at her and she noticed a little smear of pink lip gloss at the corner of his mouth. "You gave me a real scare," he confessed.

"I'm fine, promise."

"Looks like you're going to have a nasty bruise," he reached up and lightly touched the tender spot above her eyebrow. She stood up, causing his hand to leave her face and go back to his side.

"I think we need to talk," he said in a low voice.

She shook her head. "About what?" It came out a little fiercer than she'd intended it to.

His brow furrowed. "You know what."

She picked up a napkin from the spot next to where she'd been sitting and moved in front of him, stopping just before their bodies were touching. His eyes held hers and she could tell that he was trying to figure out what she was going to do. She reached up with the napkin and wiped the lipstick off his cheek, then handed it to him. He looked down at it.

"The closest a man should ever come to touching a fitted sweater," she quoted, "is helping a woman out of one." At that she turned from him and walked away.

* * *

For the second time in less than a few hours Jane found himself sitting on Rigsby's couch. Rigsby was puttering around his kitchen making Jane and himself a sandwich each, while Jane thought about his last encounter with Lisbon. It'd taken him a minute to pull himself together after she'd left and he was replaying her last words again. He thought about his conversation with Lisa and how he'd commented on the little sweater she'd been wearing the day before, and while the statements were similar he was sure something was off about it. She had given a direct quote he was sure of it, and he had the feeling that she was quoting him, but he couldn't remember ever saying such a ridiculous thing.

Rigsby made his way into the living room with two plates of food, and handed Jane one before sitting in the arm chair.

Jane sat the food on the coffee table and tapped his lips to his fingers.

"That was a really stupid thing you did earlier. Telling Lisa you'd lied to her and then outing me so you could run downstairs when I wasn't looking. Really, what did you think you were going to do?" Rigsby took a bite of sandwich, shoving a stray piece back in his mouth. "You could've made things worse."

Jane ignored Rigsby's griping then turned to him. "The closest a man should ever come to touching a fitted sweater is helping a woman out of one."

Rigsby choked, then looked at Jane as though he were broken. "Oh no." He blanched. "Did you get hit in the head tonight?"

"No," Jane told him—brow furrowed. "You recognize that phrase though, am I right?"

Rigsby looked skeptical as he answered Jane. "Yeah, you said it to the team when you had your dissociative fugue."

Jane's brow furrowed. "Why on earth would I say that?"

"One of the suspects on the murder board was wearing a fitted sweater and khakis, and you didn't like it, apparently." Rigsby took another bite of sandwich, obviously deciding Jane was fine.

"Hmm."

"Hmm?" Rigsby repeated though another mouthful.

Jane thought for a moment. "Rigsby, tell me about what I did when I had the fugue."

Rigsby shoved a few chips in his mouth and eyed Jane warily. "Why?"

"Appease me."

"Okay, well you were a real jerk. You called me Bigsby." He shoved another chip in his mouth. "You hit on Van Pelt and asked me for some hints on how to get some tasty ginger snaps."

Jane cringed. "Yikes. In front of everyone?"

"No that part was directed at me. You said it was obvious that Grace and I had history and that she'd dumped me, then asked for my advice." Rigsby looked decidedly irritated by that.

"What else did I do?"

Rigsby finished off his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a napkin, while looking up, trying to remember. "You accused the EMT who saved your life of being a murderer, conned Cho into leaving you alone so you could ditch him, you used my business cards to give to potential clients for your psychic business, and you stole money and used it to buy a diamond bracelet for some floozy."

Jane had to work hard to not cringe at each sin. And now that he'd gotten a very thorough list from Rigsby, he was starting to worry about what had enticed Lisbon to quote his bad behavior to him. Okay, he'd had to fake it tonight, but surely she didn't think his behavior this evening had been real?

"Jane?" Rigsby's voice cut through his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Jane told him. "Just tired." He reached down to his sandwich, ripped it in two and gave half to Rigsby, who'd been eyeing it. In all honesty, he wasn't really feeling that hungry, but he knew Lisbon wouldn't be pleased with him for skipping a meal. So he ate half, knowing it would appease her nurturing side. She would never know, but at least his conscience would be clear. Rigsby thanked him and had his half of the sandwich eaten in moments.

"I'll grab you a blanket and pillow," Rigsby told him as he stood up. "The couch isn't too bad for sleeping on."

"Thanks."

It wasn't fifteen minutes later that Jane lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. After his talk with Rigsby it was easy for Jane to see that Lisbon had connected his behavior at the club tonight with his behavior when he was in his fugue state. Sure he'd acted a bit of a scoundrel tonight, but that's all it was—acting.

He wriggled, then placed an arm over his face, forcing his eyes to shut. She'd been so calm when she'd wiped Lisa's lipstick of his cheek, but he was sure that she'd been motivated by jealousy. He knew that thought should make him smile, and it had for a minute, but the fact that she had made a connection between tonight and how he'd been in his fugue state was worrying.

Lisbon had never been one to settle easily, and it was always at times when things began to be romantically intense that she would start to panic and sabotage herself. Things had always been intense between him and Lisbon, but romantically—not so much. Sure they'd flirted a lot over the years and had a strong relationship, but the romance, well, that had sort of snuck up on them.

Broken would have been a perfect way to describe his state of being when he'd first met her—six months out of a padded room and incapable of trusting anyone, and yet he had both liked and trusted her near immediately.

He felt his lips quirk up remembering her first impression of him. Initially she had been wary and had seen him as a nuisance, but so true to her profession and the importance she placed on it, she'd put her concerns aside, and had gotten him to use his abilities to do good for practically the first time in his life. Sure he'd "helped" the police in the past, but that had been to promote his psychic business.

After his family died it was more or less the same. He had gone into the CBI intent solely on his wants and within a day she'd shoved him out of his selfish shell to help someone else, she'd allowed him his first taste of what it felt like to do something that was really and truly selfless. Either way he would've gotten the Red John files, he'd manipulated his way into that, but being useful—that had been Lisbon's idea.

Besides, after Judge Dallinger had told him that he couldn't understand what it was like to lose a child as he didn't have one, she'd scolded him for how he'd acted toward the judge instead of pitying him for what the judge had said. After months of psychiatric care and a year of worthless condolences, her behavior had been darn right refreshing. She'd definitely sympathized with him, but she refused to treat him like a victim, despite what she'd been trained to say.

"Mr. Jane, I truly sympathize," she'd said, "I understand how you're feeling. I would probably feel the same way. Nothing good will come from chasing this man. It's the kind of obsession that destroys people. Go someplace else; try to get on with your life."

It was the exact same thing that Agent Hannigan had said to him. At the time, he wasn't sure if he should laugh at the absurdity of the remark and how writ it was, or burst into to tears at its insensitivity. He'd done neither. He was good at reading people, and even then, he knew she had only meant most of it. That notion had been confirmed when she'd told him he could come in the next day if he cleaned himself up.

Her attitude toward him had changed after that. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to get rid of him, so if he was going to be there he was going to be useful. He'd said no to people before, with less enticing things waiting for him than the Red John file, but she'd asked for help and he'd pushed Red John aside and had gone with her. Why had he done it? He wasn't a hundred percent sure. He had been grateful, but not enough to set aside his own desires to see the Red John files when they'd been playing on his mind for close to a year. No. Regardless he had found himself not just wanting, but needing to help her.

He should have seen it then.

Since that moment she'd been the one person who'd been able to influence and affect him. She'd, unwittingly, been the person he'd needed and he felt that while he never fully healed, she'd given him something to live for in his job, and someone to be there for through her friendship. She'd saved his life then and so many times since.

Jane rolled onto his side as panic began to fill him at the very idea that she might push him away indefinitely. He knew very well, that despite the fact that Red John was still out there, that as long as she was safe and happy he could live his life even if she wasn't in it. If she had given him anything else, it was the ability to stand on his own, and he would always be grateful for that, but that's not what he wanted—a life of standing on his own. He wanted her and her stubborn, probably misplaced, loyalty.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. It had taken years for him to finally feel this way about a woman again and the idea of losing her was unbearable. He decided right there that if she pushed, he'd pull, if she ran, he'd follow, if she slugged him, he'd turn the other cheek, but he wasn't under any circumstances going to lose her. No, he loved her too much…

As the realization of his feelings hit home, he sat bolt right and looked into the dark room. Memories flooded through his mind of things he'd done for her over the years: of fleeting glances, and downright stares, of awkward hugs, apologies, and late nights on her couch while she did paper work, of specialty coffee and bearclaws. Memories of shooting Hardy to save her life, (again giving up Red John for her,) memories of hyperventilating when she was shot by Craig, and the devious plans he'd concocted to get her back every time his actions got her suspended or fired. Memories of promises he'd made that he'd always be there for her and would always save her, and painful memories too, of when she was angry with him or of the six months he'd spent apart from her. His feelings had always been just under the surface, he'd just been too blinded by revenge to see them.

He reached for his jacket where it'd been flung over the arm of the chair next to the couch and removed his phone from his pocket. It read three a.m. He sighed and flopped back onto the couch. It'd be no good to wake her now, she'd only be angry with him. He set his alarm for five and willed himself to get some sleep. In a couple hours he'd ditch Rigsby, go to her house and insist that they talk. There wasn't going to be another day of missed opportunities. He'd get to her before she had daylight hours to obsess over whatever she was using to try and convince herself that she should stay away from him, and he would help her deal with those issues. After that, well they'd both just have to wait and see.

* * *

Lisbon opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. Three and half hours had passed since she'd left the club and had made her way to the office. The moment of clarity she'd experienced at the club had left her hyped up and she knew there was no way she'd be getting any sleep tonight. So, instead, she made the five minute drive to HQ and had been pouring over the list of cars that had been in the building the night she'd been ambushed by Red John. She wasn't sure if the list would come to anything, but she'd been puzzling over it for weeks nonetheless.

Now, at four-thirty in the morning and despite the adrenaline that was still coursing through her, she could no longer take the throbbing pain in her arms or head. She removed the cap, dropped two pills into her hand, and then threw them back with a sip of water. It was only now starting to occur to her that she would have felt infinitely better and more comfortable if she had gone home first, showered, changed and then come to the office. She'd just been too worked up.

She tugged at the hem of her dress, and leaned back in her chair. She wanted to give the medicine time to kick in, so she could get back to work. She'd probably even get all of her paper work done that they needed for the Randle case, so that she'd be paper work free when she came in on Monday. That would be a great way to start the week off.

When the pain medicine started to kick in, she leaned forward and looked down at her list again. She remembered the map that LaRoche had made when Todd Johnson had gone up in flames and came up with a plan. Maybe his "science project" idea could be of use to her.

* * *

At a quarter after six, Jane pulled into Lisbon's parking lot. He hadn't managed to fall asleep at Rigsby's place, but had stared at his clock until one minute before five. Then he'd gotten up and snuck out. He knew Lisbon would be pissed when she found out he'd ditched Rigsby, but he didn't really think he was in danger at the moment.

Neither Randle nor Sinclair knew where Jane rested his head at night and even if they'd managed to find out, he was positive that Lisbon's house would be the last place they'd think to check. Plus, he was fairly certain that neither of them had fully connected the dots about his involvement or his plans.

As he made his way to the far end of the parking lot, where he was sure Lisbon wouldn't notice his car, he saw to his dismay that her car was nowhere in sight. Lisbon was by no means a morning person and the idea that she would be up this early on a Sunday was absurd. He grabbed the bag of groceries he'd bought from his passenger seat, made his way to her apartment and after picking the lock let himself in.

He sat the groceries on her table, and made a quick search of her place looking for signs that she had come and gone, but there were none. Where ever she'd gone after the club, it hadn't been home. He did notice however, that everything was back in its respective place from where it had been before Red John… He felt a little anxiety building in his gut, but tampered it down by reminding himself of a few things. First of all she was safe. Randle wouldn't go after her, because he was still unaware of her existence and Sinclair made it very clear that if he was going to hurt anyone, it would be him, not Lisbon. He made his was back downstairs, removed the groceries to the kitchen and finished unpacking them.

The idea that Red John might have gotten her jumped to mind, briefly scaring the crap out him before he rationalized that Red John thought that Lisbon was the only thing keeping him sane, and as long as Red John wanted to keep Jane in the game, Lisbon was more or less safe. Jane knew that one day she could end up in harm's way, when Red John decided to finish Jane off, but that day was not today and Jane had every intention of killing Red John before that could happen.

He made his way to the living room and paced in front of her couch while running his hand through his hair. He thought momentarily about calling her, but he was now reasonably convinced that she was safe, and he knew two things for certain. First, she wanted space. If she'd been at ease with him, she would have taken him with her, instead of dumping him on Rigsby, twice for that matter, in less than twelve hours. Second, he knew that if he called her, she would want to know where he was, and all that would lead to is disaster. If he didn't tell her she'd be infuriated with him, and that wasn't the mood he wanted her in when they talked, and if he did tell her, she'd be infuriated and would send Rigsby or Cho to get him before she got home and before he got the chance to talk with her. That he could not have.

Finally he decided on sending a quick text.

_How's the head?_

He kept it short and sweet. A long moment later he got a response.

_Sleeping. _

He chuckled. Well, he supposed she could be under her bed. He hadn't looked there.

He closed his phone and looked longingly at her couch. He was exhausted and he had to admit that it looked very inviting. He shrugged, then made his way over to her couch and sat down. He removed his shoes, then his jacket and vest, before grabbing the blanket from off the chairs ottoman. He covered himself with the blanket and lay down, folding a pillow up under his head and closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths and drifted off to sleep.

The sound of a lock disengaging brought him out of his slumber. He didn't open his eyes, but knew from the bright red he was seeing through his lids, that it was several hours since he'd fallen asleep. He stretched as he listened to Lisbon come into her apartment, and move toward her kitchen table. He smiled at the fact that she hadn't seen him yet.

He opened his eyes and glanced across the space separating them and watched as she rested a hand on the back of her dining room chair, as she removed her heels. She was still wearing the dress she'd had on at the club last night and Jane was glad for the opportunity he was currently having of seeing her in it during the day. He waited quietly, hoping she'd remove her jacket too, so he could appreciate the entire dress before she went into her tirade, and a moment later his wish was granted. That was until he saw the painful stiffening of her body as she slid out of her jacket, and then saw the dark punishing bruises that covered her upper arms.

"Lisbon!" Her name had popped out of his mouth in a startled choke. He sat up and fought with the blankets that covered him. She turned gun raised in his direction, he hadn't even seen her pick it up.

"Jane?" She took a deep breath and lowered the gun as he shoved the blankets over irately and made his way around the table. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He ignored her tone and was at her side in moments, looking her over. The bruises on her arms were black and deep purple and she had another dark bruise covering her right brow. He'd seen the bruise on her forehead last night, but it had been much smaller then. However, thinking back, it suddenly occurred to him why she'd put her jacket on so hastily when he'd approached her last night. She'd been hiding the evidence of her injuries.

He felt himself shaking with fury. Fury that she'd shut him out, fury that she'd hid this and walked away from him. Fury that he'd let her.

He reached a hand out gingerly to her face and stroked the bruise and then and only then did he allow himself to look her in the eye. The gun that had been extended was now at her side, her eyes had been furious when she'd first seen him, but now they were nervous and speculative. His movements had been so sporadic that it had stunned her into silence. Good. Just for a moment he wanted her to see that he was angry with her.

He reached down to her hand, holding her eye contact, and removed it from her grasp before dropping it on the table. Her eyes were searching his face, and he had an overwhelming desire to lean down and kiss her, but he knew that would only make her angry at herself later when she kissed him back. They needed to work through her reservations, or they'd keep having this problem over and over again. He wasn't going to lose her, and if that meant pacing himself, he would. He took a step back and allowed the crease between his brow to ease.

"Sit down," he said. Despite the gentleness in his voice, he wasn't asking and she knew it.

He made his way into the kitchen and opened the freezer, removing one of several icepacks that she kept stored in there. He grabbed a kitchen towel out of its respective drawer, knowing immediately where she'd keep them, wrapped up the ice pack and came back over. He rested the icepack gently on her forehead, and after her hand reached up to it, he let go, took a step to the chair next to hers and sat down. She was still staring at him. He took a deep breath and crossed his legs. He'd shown his frustration and she had responded to it just as he'd hoped. Now it was time to bring her back to herself.

"That dress really is very flattering, but I never guessed you one for using your body to draw attention," he said.

Her brow crunched up, she grimaced in pain, and then let him have it. "I wouldn't have had to do that if your little tart hadn't been followed by a dozen thugs of one of Sacramento's biggest crime lords."

"Nonsense, Lisbon," he said smirking at her use of 'tart.' "We both know you bought that dress because you knew it would help you be a reliable distractor of attention, especially after you wiped the floor with Jake at pool last week."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Really," she simpered. "You so sure that was my motive?"

He smiled outright. "As much as I'd like to think you bought that dress to tease me, we both know you are way too professional for such behavior."

She smiled lightly at that and looked down.

"Although, if you had wanted to tease me it would have worked. That dress is definitely your color."

She blushed and her eyes narrowed again. He ignored it, stood up and made his way back over to her couch where he flopped back into the cushions and nestled down again.

"Jane, what are you doing?"

He closed his eyes and pulled the blanket back over him again. "Going back to sleep. I'm sleepy."

"No, why are you here?" He heard the chair slide out and feet padding across the floor in his direction.

"Rigsby's couch is uncomfortable."

He didn't look, but he could almost see her hands coming to rest on her hips. "What part of 'your life is in danger,' do you not understand, Jane? I assigned Rigsby to stay with you for a reason. Remember? Sinclair threatened to kill you."

"Meh, I'm fine. And now I'm with you, so you can protect me." He smiled at the thought of her seething over his cavalier attitude. Then a pillow hit him in the head. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction from which the pillow had come. Lisbon stood poised with another pillow held high and a murderous gaze. "Lisbon!" his brow furrowed at her tenacity.

"You're driving me crazy!" she spat. Jane had to hold back a smile this time, but somehow it struck him as funny that that exact same phrase and been used on him in less than twelve hours. Once in lust and now in fury, and the only one he had any kind of response to was Lisbon's latter.

He watched as she took a few deep breaths, and lowered the pillow. "Jane, I'm tired, I'm cranky. I am not at all in the mood to be playing games. So either tell me why you're here and not with Rigsby, or get out of my house."

He smiled again, and lifted the end of the blanket up. "There's room in here."

She blanched and dropped the pillow. He sat up on one elbow and watched as her expression went from panicked, to confused, to livid, and then watched her turn and tear up the stairs. He heard the door to her bathroom slam shut and lock.

Okay, admittedly, he knew beforehand that she wouldn't be happy with his remark, but at very most he'd expected another pillow to be chucked at him, not to feel pure hatred hurled at him before she ran away.

He sat up. "Teresa?" he called up after her.

She didn't answer.

_Crap._

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I apparently really enjoy putting Jane in bad situations. It's just that his reactions in these moments are so funny, that I can't help myself. Plus, he kind of deserves what's coming. I love him, but boy is he a brat. Also, I realize that there was a lot of inner dialogue in this chapter, so I hope I didn't lose you. It starts picking up pace again next chapter. Thanks for reading!  
**

**Quick note: It just occurred to me that there are all these fantastic people who review my story frequently, but don't have accounts, so I never respond to their wonderful comments. **

**I really quickly wanted to thank annaflower, Tina, Nat and Guest who review frequently and say such encouraging things. You're so great! **

**I also wanted to say a thank you to fan, Muffin, Jessica, aiko blaze, Janelle Darius, Meryl Blake, Marissa Carlion, SBlover, Rosemary Candrick, idonthaveaname, and jisbon for being kind enough to leave me reviews even though I couldn't tell you how much they were appreciated. Thank you!  
**

**I'm going to start leaving comments for guest reviewers at the end of each chapter. Thanks again!  
**


	29. The Scoundrel, The Ring and The Red

**A/N: Not really sure why, but I am overly pleased with the title of this chapter. I'm grinning at it even now. :) See.**

* * *

Chapter 29 The Scoundrel, The Ring, and The Red

After Lisbon had locked herself into the bathroom Jane had given her five minutes before following. Just as he was about to knock he heard the shower turn on and decided it'd be best to leave her to it. He was admittedly baffled by her reaction, honestly he'd slunk back over to her couch after she arrived and had pretended that he was going to go back to sleep so she'd start a conversation with him. And it had worked, like a charm even, until she'd run off of course. He knew that she had to be tired, she hadn't sleep for a couple of nights, and a shower might just do the trick.

He ambled back to the sofa and to his surprise fell asleep. Half an hour later he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and feet on carpet making their way to her room. He rolled over and dozed off again.

He woke not too long after, feeling very well rested. He snuck upstairs and used the bathroom. When he was done he glanced in the direction of her room, pleased to note that she hadn't shut the door all the way. She hadn't asked him to leave before storming off either, so maybe there was hope after all. He knew she was mad and confused, but despite that, that she fully expected him to stay. He pushed the door open a little further, being careful not to make sound and peeked in. She was lying on her stomach, blanket pulled up to her shoulders, with her legs and her arms spread out. Her hair fanned out over the pillows and covered her face.

He smiled, then stepped back, bringing the door back to where it'd been before he'd snooped and quietly made his way down the stairs again. It was twelve thirty which meant that she couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple of hours. He wanted to wake her. Badly. Partially because, even though he'd spent the bulk of the day with her yesterday and even though she was just in the other room, he missed her, and partly because he wanted to the get "the talk" over with.

Still she needed her sleep and he was determined to let her have it. So, he started busying himself around her apartment. First, he went through all of her CD's, then her photo albums, and then her books. By three he'd narrowed down a selection of ten books he'd picked out to one and had started reading it. At three-fifteen he decided it was boring and started reading something else.

By five he was halfway through the second book, but feeling hungry. While he was quite enjoying this book, he decided that he stomach was drawing his attention more than the book was and decided to make dinner. It only occurred to him as he started removing the items from the fridge that he brought, that he hadn't eaten at all today. He knew Lisbon hadn't. He supposed that it _was_ possible that she stopped for a pastry on the way home, but more likely she had been too in pain and too tired to have thought of it.

He was going to have to make an effort to see her eat three times a day.

He spent the next half hour cooking. Blueberry pancakes and waffles with a strawberries and whip cream, bacon, sausage, hash browns and eggs. Mmm, mmm, eggs. He heard the sounds of life upstairs and smiled. A few short minutes later and Lisbon was shuffling into the kitchen. He glanced back at her.

"Good evening, dear. I made breakfast."

He could see that she'd tried to tame her hair by sticking it into a bun, and had slipped sweats on under her jersey. She looked well rested if not wary, but he could tell that the smell of food cooking was what had brought her down. The sleeves of her jersey covered her bruises but he watched for signs that they were bothering her. It made him woozy to think about some sleazeball marring her beautiful skin with painful bruises.

She didn't say anything, but sat down at the place setting he'd laid out and rubbed her eyes. He opened the oven and started removing the items he'd finished and placed them on the table. After everything was laid out he grabbed her plate and put a healthy serving of everything, minus pancakes and waffles on her plate, before serving himself.

She waited until he started eating before she picked up her fork. "You cooked," she said in a hushed tone.

He nodded in response while buttering his waffle. He reached across the table and grabbed the maple syrup he placed out earlier and poured that over his waffle as well. He pushed his waffle to the side to allow the syrup to sink in and started on his eggs. She eyed him nervously for a moment, then scooped some eggs into her mouth and groaned.

Jane nearly jumped out of his seat. He glanced over at her as she savored the eggs. "Good?"

Her eyes opened and she peeked over at him. "Why have you never made these for me before?"

He smiled. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities for me to make them for you in the future," he responded. He saw her stiffen for a moment, but then pushed aside whatever it was that was bugging her and dove into her meal.

Two eggs, three strips of bacon, one sausage, a healthy serving of hash browns, two blueberry pancakes and one strawberry waffle later, Lisbon was slouched back in her seat. "That was delicious, thank you, Jane." She kept her eyes on her plate.

She stood up, grabbed her plate and his and brought them into the kitchen, he followed shortly after and the two managed a slow dance around one another, while cleaning up and putting everything away—never once speaking.

When everything was done Lisbon moved into the living room and sat down on the couch. Jane followed slowly, waiting to see what she might do. She found the book he'd borrowed and raised an eyebrow at it, before slouching into the couch cushions. Still, never speaking.

Jane took a seat next to her. He waited a few minutes, giving her a chance to say something first, but when she didn't, he did. "When I invited you to lie down with me earlier, I was teasing you. You know that, right?"

He glanced over at her and watched as her cheeks reddened. "Jane…"

"Now, don't get me wrong, if you'd come over I would have happily scooted over…"

"Stop," she cut in. "Just stop." Her voice wasn't angry, but it was firm and perhaps a little sad.

"I don't think so Lisbon," he told her just as firmly. "I've let this go on long enough. It's time to talk about this." He gestured between the two of them.

"There's nothing to talk about."

He smiled and turned the rest of his body to face her. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her expression was tired.

"There is in fact _a lot_ to talk about," he told her. "For example, why your reaction to a flirtatious joke was to storm off and lock yourself in the bathroom?"

"You were being a jerk," she responded glibly. "You knew I was tired and frustrated, and instead of being sympathetic you were inappropriate. Not to mention that you went against my expressed desires for you to stay with Rigsby. You never Listen, Jane. Your life is in danger and you throw caution to the wind."

He shook his head a little. "Now come, Lisbon. This wasn't entirely my fault."

She snorted.

"Well, what did you think I was going to do? I've been trying to get you alone since the library yesterday and you've kept pushing Rigsby on me, then that comment on the roof last night about fitted sweaters. Talk about being a tease. It wasn't until I quoted it to Rigsby that I found out what that was even about."

Her head whipped in his direction at the mention of Rigsby.

"Oh, don't fret, I didn't tell him anything you'd be ashamed of," he sounded more hurt than he'd meant to. "But since, you wouldn't talk to me I had to get my information from somewhere. I know I said that when I was in my fugue state, and I know that I upset you last night, and more than likely reminded you of my behavior when I was in the fugue state. So, I'd like to talk about it."

Her face made nearly the same cycle it had when she'd stormed off earlier, going from panicked to confused, but stopped just short of livid. He took a deep breath, glad for small miracles as she reined in her control and put on her cop face.

She stood up and started pacing. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Jane swallowed. He _had_ let her think about it too long.

"As a matter of fact, I know it's not," she continued. "I'm calling Rigsby and telling him to come get you."

"No you won't," he said assuredly as she made her way to the stairs. The challenge in his voice made her stop and turn to him.

"You think you're going to stop me?" She crossed her arms, a little stiffly, over her chest. "I want to be alone. I want you to leave."

"I won't. And further, if you call Rigsby and tell him to come here I _will_ cause a scene." He crossed his legs and kept his voice calm and controlled. He watched as her face dropped when she realized he wasn't bluffing.

"Why?" she sulked. She dropped her head in her hands, carefully avoiding her bruised brow.

"Because, I love you," he said, as he laced his hands in his lap and waited.

Her head popped out of her hands and she made eye contact. "What?" she screeched—cop face gone.

Jane cringed. "Yes, well, I was little surprised too." He furrowed his brow at her harried expression. "Not as surprised as you currently are but..."

"Jane," she croaked, but he wasn't about to let her continue until he'd gotten it all out.

He raised a hand warding off her next statement and plowed on. "Last night while I was lying on Rigsby's couch trying to sleep, it should have been the numerous toys shoved under the cushions keeping me awake, but it wasn't. It was thoughts of you. When I removed one of Ben's six inch steam trains from between my fourth and fifth vertebrae it hit me. If that couldn't take my mind off you, nothing could."

She snorted cynically despite herself and he smiled. "Don't be ridiculous, Jane."

He leaned forward and made eye contact. "Three things. First, it's the whole truth. It's taken me awhile to wake up and realize it, but I do, I love you. Very much, and that became apparent last night as I reminisced over our past. It was in the details, Teresa. All this time. I just hadn't slowed down enough to notice or admit it."

Her eyes were starting to glisten, but he knew she wouldn't let one tear fall. Her emotions right now were just as much about her own feelings for him as they were about her reticence. She was confused, and frustrated, and flattered, and tired, and a dozen other things.

He continued. "Second, we are going to talk about this. Talk about your feelings, your hesitations, and after we've exhausted the subject and you have a fair understanding of things—I'll leave if you want me to. I'll give you _some_ time, space, whatever you need, but first you have to hear me out."

He held her eyes and waited for her to respond. She nodded lightly and he smiled. "Good. Now please, sit down."

She made her way slowly back to the couch and sat down. She pulled her legs up under her and looked at him. "What's the third thing," she asked.

He opened his mouth to tell her, but decided to wait. "After we talk, I'll tell you."

She accepted that with a nod as well.

* * *

Lisbon hadn't really allowed herself much time to think about her feelings for Jane since yesterday. She'd been so irritated with him at the club last night, but it had taken a back seat when Randle's men had shown up. Still, she couldn't help but draw comparison after comparison to Jane in his fugue state. It was all just so slimy.

She shivered lightly and looked over at the man in question. He'd been sitting quietly for a few moments now. Letting her think about what he'd just declared and what she wanted to say. His gaze was intent and made her resolve soften. He'd always been able to manipulate her, and she didn't feel it fair that what should have _just_ been a sweet confession was now marred by his bad behavior.

_Tackle the beast,_ she thought. She crossed her arms over her chest as her resolve returned. "That was a pretty big confession for someone who was bringing it on strong as you were with Lisa last night."

"Yes, well," he tapped his fingers to his lips, "it was the easiest way to get what we needed in the amount of time we had." He tried to make eye contact, but she refused. He continued. "There's no need to be jealous, Lisbon. If it makes you feel better, the entire night was a nightmare for me. I would have rather have had you punch me in the nose than flirt with her. Not to mention all the men that were falling all over themselves for you. It took all my strength to not blow my cover and come over and claim you with a kiss." He smirked and rested his arm on the back of the couch.

She rolled her eyes. "You would've gotten a punch in the nose if you had. Still," she looked at him pensively, "you did get a kiss after all."

She could see him studying her, but didn't give into his gaze yet.

"She kissed me on the cheek before leaving with SacPD, that's all." He waited, but she had nothing to say. "Okay, here's what it comes down to. You think I acted like the scoundrel I was in my fugue state and aren't sure if you can trust me now."

This time she did look at him.

"Let's stop beating around the bush," he said. "Maybe if you tell me what I did I can put both our minds at ease, because, frankly, this is stressing me out. Being held accountable for behavior I can't remember…"

She could feel her soft scowl vanishing. He had acted like a scoundrel when he had the fugue, and he hadn't done anything so out of the ordinary last night, had he? Maybe it only felt that way because they'd kissed. Maybe she did owe him the right to defend himself. "Okay—I'll just hit the nail on the head, shall I?"

He raised a hand encouraging her to do just that.

"When you were in your fugue state you said you used your ring to get over on women and even said that it worked on me."

He chuckled.

She ignored him and continued. "Then tonight," she pointed at his bare ring finger and watched as he rubbed his thumb over it. "You took it off to get one over on her." She raised a brow at him waiting for his response.

"Yes, and then there was the fitted sweater comment," his voice held a little irritation. "And obviously there was something to do with what I said earlier that got you so mad. So go on, just hit me with it. All of it. Otherwise, I imagine, we'll be here all night."

She shook her head. "Okay, you asked for it. When you first came out of your fugue state, you asked me if we were sleeping together, and when I told you we weren't, you said we must be working toward it and made sure you hadn't missed anything, then when I tried to run for it you did a cold reading on me."

"Your mom, right?" Jane asked.

She felt a chill go up her spine but managed a nod anyway. It was creepy how he did that. "That was just the first night," she continued. "Second night you ran away from Cho, went to a club with the firemen from our victim's battalion and when I got there you'd conned some poor woman into hugging you at the end of a reading. Then you told Van Pelt that one of the firemen got the last round and asked her to thank them for you right before you asked me to stay for your late show because you were best with the late crowd." She looked over at him nervously remembering what he'd done after that, but decided to skip it. "I had to threaten you to get you to go back to the hospital."

She paused a moment too long and Jane jumped in, pointing in her direction. "There's something else there you're avoiding. Out with it."

She could feel her face turning red and looked away from him.

"Hmm. That bad huh? What did I do?" He scooted toward her a little. "Did I kiss you?"

"No!" she said emphatically as she shook her head.

"No." His brow furrowed and she knew he believed her. "I did touch you though."

"No," she said quietly.

"Yes, I did."

She tried not to cringe at his appraising stare, but it was difficult.

"I grabbed you," he asked and when her eyes narrowed, he tried again. "Groped…"

"Jeez, Jane. Could you make this anymore awkward?"

"If you don't tell me," he said in a sing song voice, "I'll just keep guessing."

She huffed. "You grabbed my butt, okay." She glanced sideways at him, and could see a small smile on his lips. It wasn't the cocky look she'd been expecting, but something else that made her stomach flip and made her feel warm all over.

"Very, please continue."

She plowed on despite thinking that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. "At the hospital you told me you were done with police work and that if I didn't let you go that you would call any one of several numbers that you'd gotten that night to be your 'responsible' adult. You also told me that you knew I was tip-toeing around some forgotten tragedy and asked me why I couldn't just let you be happy. You promised you'd help close up the last case and then you laid down." Her words sped up. "I was going to leave, but instead I sat in the chair next to your bed."

"And I told you there was room on the bed with me." It wasn't a question.

She wondered why it was even necessary to tell him anything. It seemed he was figuring things out fairly well all on his own.

He continued. "Then I stole the money from the robbery when I solved the case and bought a diamond bracelet for one of the 'numbers' I'd gotten."

Her brow furrowed until she remembered that he'd talked to Rigsby about this already. "Yes," she confirmed, "that's about it. Excepting that you kissed that number at HQ in front of everyone."

"Well," Jane said quietly, "I did have a busy few days didn't I?"

"Jane," She looked him in the eye, really looked, for the first time since she started listing off his bad behavior, "it's not so much what you did when you couldn't remember who you are, it's that you acted almost exactly the same way last night when you could remember. How can you just flip a switch like that?"

"Tell me," he said. "There was a moment when, before the second night, you felt you'd one upped me, or felt pride at surprising me, a moment when you caught me off guard—what was that?"

She felt her head tilt to the side as she studied his face. How he knew these things was beyond her. "Well, yeah, I guess there was. How'd you know that?"

"I wouldn't have invited you to stay for my late show if I didn't want to impress you. _And_ I wouldn't have wanted to impress you if you hadn't caught my attention somehow. So tell me, what was it?" All very matter-of-fact.

Lisbon started shaking her head. "No, Grace was there too."

"But you said that I asked her to thank the fireman for me and that I asked _you_ to stay for my show."

She felt her brow furrow as she looked away trying to remember. She had said that, and now that she thought about his invitation it had, in fact, been directed at her. "Uh, yeah. I guess that's right. So?"

"I can't remember what happened, so you'll have to be my memory, Teresa. Now, the moment I asked for. I know it popped into your mind already. What was it?" He looked eager.

That made her nervous.

She took a deep breath. "You were telling me all these things you could remember-the uh, seven levels of taxonomy, the complete works of Shakespeare, and some other crap—anyway I mentioned your memory palace. You were surprised and I reminded you that we were friends."

She watched as a smile crossed his face and briefly wondered if she'd really just seen a sparkle in his eye.

"The man I was when I had the fugue was the man I no doubt would have been with women had I never met Angela," he admitted honestly.

Even though the statement made her both happy and sad, she couldn't help but to smile. She turned her body toward his a little.

He continued. "I would have gone after shallow, inept women, who never challenged me. To have a woman who was more than just beautiful, even a successful woman with a mind of her own, tell me that I had told her about my memory palace, the greatest weapon in my arsenal, and then tell me that we were friends, that would have been a big deal in my mind. I would have made it my mission to figure out why I had thought you were special enough to share that information and become friends with."

"Jane, the whole team knows about your memory palace," she reminded him, resting her elbow on the armrest.

"Yes, but the fugue me didn't know that. Plus, Rigsby told me I was trying to get a date with Grace. If by that evening I passed _her_ off to another guy and then invited _you_ to stay and watch my late show, it was because I wanted to impress you."

The whole explanation seemed so silly that she found herself smiling despite herself. Then she remembered why that was nonsense. "Please," she said, exasperation coloring her tone. "You were about to leave the team, Jane. You obviously weren't that impressed."

"Meh," he looked away. "I'm sure my pride was injured when you didn't respond to my advances. I would've come back eventually. At most to figure you out—at least to get you into my bed."

She shot him a disapproving glare.

He raised his hands as if in surrender. "I cannot be held responsible for my behavior in my fugue state."

"It's the perfect excuse isn't it?" She smiled at him briefly. "A dream come true for any man needing a reason for why he slept with a woman he wasn't really interested in. 'The fugue made me do it'," she mocked.

She felt two fingers on her shoulder and jumped, then looked to her right to see Jane gazing at her intently. "The difference being that I was actually in a fugue state," he said. "I was _actually_ interested in you and you never would have slept with _that_ me."

A chill ran up her spine. "That's true," she said ignoring the double entendre in his statement.

He chuckled and she couldn't help but smile at the carefree expression that came with it. The laugh lines, and wide smile. She titled her head and bit her lip. She liked this Jane, wished she could see more of him. For a moment it was even easy to pretend that he wasn't broken and that she wasn't disbelieving.

"I'm sorry that my behavior made you doubt me," he said a little more seriously. "I want you to know that I have been trying to earn back the trust I lost when I left. For months now I've been trying, even before I knew exactly what it was I was feeling. I thought it was working, but I do have a way of making a mess of things."

"You do," she conceded with a couple nods.

"I'm not interested in Lisa." His hand ghosted down her arm, careful not to touch the bruises she'd hidden under her big jersey, and stopped at her elbow. He grasped it and looked her in the eye. "I'm not interested in Katherine, or Aria, or Lorelei." He ducked down a little to better look her in the eye. "I'm only interested in you."

She let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and looked away from him. "Maybe you should stop saying things like that," she cringed.

"Like what?" he asked. "Like I love you?"

Her heart jumped uncomfortably in her chest.

"No, I won't. I like how it sounds," he said through a smirk.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at him.

"This is all really confusing, Jane." His face was stoic now and made her feel guilty. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't flattered, but I'm not sure this is such a good idea. I think that it's possible that right now we're…" she searched for the right words. "That we've had a small taste of what it'd be like to lose the other. We care a lot about each other, and I'm just worried…"

"That we're confusing our feelings?" he finished her sentence for her.

She nodded and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

He scooted toward her, and she suddenly realized that he must have been getting closer throughout their entire conversation, because he was now right next to her. "I hope that's not really what you're feeling, Teresa, but I can guarantee you that I'm not confusing anything. It's taken me a long time to get here, and I know exactly what this is." He let that sink in. "As far as last night goes—I acted a part, but I didn't touch Lisa inappropriately, or kiss her. I didn't even dance with her. Then when I was upstairs with her at the club, she snuggled up to me and I didn't even notice because I was listening to what you were doing. Then suddenly her hand was on my lapel..."

Lisbon froze at the unwanted image of Lisa making a pass at Jane.

He continued, "and I pushed her off, told her I was working a sting with the CBI, called Rigsby over and ran downstairs just in time to see you slam your head into Goliath's. _Which_, by the way, scared the hell out of me."

He reached up and stroked her forehead again. "As far as my ring goes—it was something I'd been talking about with Lisa up to a week before I kissed you. It killed me to take it off, but after I did, I was so distressed that you'd never speak to me again after kissing you, and then I got caught up when you kissed me back, and then I was caught up in protecting you from Sinclair and then I was caught up in being arrested—it was a really long day yesterday."

She chuckled as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I had every intention of putting it back. I forgot, and now I'm thinking that maybe that was my subconscious way of moving on." His arm wrapped around her back, and he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Jane," she let her head fall forward into his chest.

"Yes dear?"

"I've spent the last several years with people accusing me of having feelings for you." She could feel his chest jump lightly as he chuckled.

"Don't you?" he asked knowingly, but she was pleased to note the slightly hopeful tone in his voice.

"Maybe," she grumbled as she grasped chunks of his shirt in her fists below where her head still rested. "My point is…only people who know us, people who have seen us work together, and who have seen me stand up for you, even when you are being a prick, could possibly think that I might have feelings for you."

He pressed a slow series of kisses over her cheek.

She swallowed thickly. She had to get this out, or she never would. "Someone who might have some sort of vested personal or professional interest in you or me—enough interest to stick a pillow under my head after knocking me unconscious."

She felt his chest stiffen under her fingers. He pulled away and looked her in the eye intently. "Teresa, what are you saying?"

She breathed out. "I think we know who Red John is."

* * *

**A/N: Was Lisbon's epiphany what you thought it was? I hope Jane's confession was up to par and satisfying too. Also, I read this to my mom when I finished writing it and she asked me if I was hungry when I wrote it. I wonder why she thought that...  
**

**Okay, as promised here are response for all the wonderful reviewers without accounts. **

**annflower: I hope the chat was soon enough. I'm like you, don't like to be left guessing, and I'm not a big fan of angst. Meh... It's funny, because I don't think I meant for it to progress as slow as the show, but I couldn't bring them together too quickly in my mind either. The result is this seemingly never ending story. Haha! But they're working on it now...**

**Tina: Yeah, I really wanted to show that Jane is making an effort. Even though he's still himself and does dumb things that get him in trouble, I thought it important to show that he is making a change in his thought process. Plus I think we can all agree that once Jane decides to do something, he just goes ahead and does it. Lisbon won't be able to get far now. (Insert Jaws theme song here.) I'm not a big fan of angst either. Lisbon's not going to be super easy, but as you can see from this chapter, she won't be impossible either. :)**

**Nat: I know, I'm sorry about that. I was being vague intentionally with her feelings. It's also why I tried to keep her sections shortish. I didn't want to betray what her epiphany was really about lest it would ruin this chapter, so I kept her feeling minimal. I hope this chapter helped clear up her feelings somewhat though. Thanks for being patient with me. **

**Guest: That's so flattering that you read it all in one go and pretty impressive too! I'm sorry you were sick, but I'm glad you liked my story! By the way, your English is great. Thanks for reviewing. **

**Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers. You're awesome. I've started the next chapter and hope to have it too you soon! **


	30. The Small Crimson Face

Chapter 30 The Small Crimson Face

Lisbon walked into the interrogation room to see Lorelei had already been brought in. Lorelei sat a little taller upon seeing her, but Lisbon didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she walked over to the metal chair and sat down. She took her time removing her jacket and throwing it over the back of her chair, before turning her attention to the reason for her visit. She watched as Lorelei appraised the bruises on her arms and forehead.

Normally Lisbon would've chosen a long sleeved shirt and heavy foundation in lieu of parading her bruises around, but it occurred to her last night that if they really did know Red John, he would more than likely be interested in her safety. She was after all still an active player in his game. Maybe it would draw him out? Of course she hadn't mentioned any of this to Jane.

Still, she knew enough from her years of working on the Red John case that when Red John wanted something he'd stop at nothing to get it. And right now, as far as she could tell, he wanted two things: Jane's friendship, and for her and Jane to be together. After Jane had left her apartment last night she realized how much she hated being manipulated and played with. It was bad enough that Jane messed with her, the last thing she was going to put up with was a serial killer doing it too. So she'd come here.

"Agent Lisbon," Lorelei said, concern coloring her tone. "What happened to you?"

"What can I say, the bad boys love me." Lisbon gave a non-committal shrug.

Lorelei stared at her for a moment longer, but Lisbon gave her nothing to read. "I thought after Red John's gift that Jane would be taking better care of you," Lorelei commented.

Lisbon smiled lightly despite the fact that she wanted to punch someone, preferably Red John, for treating her like she was an object to be given. "It's not Jane's job or place to take care of me. You see, Red John always had that wrong," Lisbon said.

"Did he?" Lorelei leaned forward. "I don't think so. I saw the look on your face when I told you that Patrick and I had slept together. You were hurt."

"No, I was surprised. As you could easily imagine I would be. It's not every day an agent finds out her partner slept with a violent criminal." She crossed her legs and clasped her hands in her lap. "I don't know what Red John has told you, but he obviously doesn't know as much about me as you say he does, otherwise he'd know that."

"Maybe you don't know yourself." Lorelei smiled.

Lisbon's eyes widened. "Seriously, you too?" she spat. "You know, I am sick and tired of people telling me how I feel and frankly would really enjoy taking it out on someone. So, please, keep telling me how Red John knows me better than I know myself, or even at all."

Lorelei kept her expression calm and controlled. "He does; whether you want to admit it or not. He knows everything from what toothpaste you use, to how many times you tried calling and texting Patrick while he was away, to the lengths you'd go to protect him."

"Breaking and entering, phone records, and personal files." Lisbon listed off how Red John could've gotten his knowledge with her fingers. "He's not God, Lorelei. Even if he'd like you to think he is, even if he's convinced you he is, I'm here to tell you he's just a man. And you, you are nothing but pawn in his psychotic little game. You mean nothing to him."

She could see she was hitting a nerve as she watched Lorelei fight for control over her emotions.

Lisbon breathed in lightly and tried to remember how Jane did this. "Let me see if I can paint an accurate picture—one night late after a bout of lovemaking you were lying in Red John's arms as he spoke about his obsession with Jane and with…" she chuckled cruelly, "well, me. He told you how he longed to win Jane's friendship, told you how he admires me and the pull, however slight, I have over Jane. More time passes. More nights in his arms, more of stories of Jane and me, and eventually he asked you for everything you have. He asked you to go to Jane and you did it, because you love him."

Lorelei's face flushed a deep crimson, but her voice was still calm and collected. "That's right, I do, and nothing you can say will change that."

Lisbon leaned back in her chair. "Oh, I believe that. Red John's 'friends'," she used air quotes and rolled her eyes, "are always faithful to their detriment. Why should you be any different?"

"I am different," Lorelei's brow quirked up and her voice lightened. "Why do you think he sent me to Patrick?"

Lisbon maintained her cool despite the rolling sensation in her stomach that made her want to throw up. "_Because_ of _Jane_, obviously… You mean nothing, Jane means everything. I mean something, because I matter to Jane. You however… you're just the prostitute he sent to do his bidding. You have value to Red John only as long as he can use you against Jane."

"It's all right if he does," Lorelei's voice had truly calmed by now. "True love means giving your all and expecting nothing in return."

Lisbon shuddered.

Lorelei took a deep breath and continued. "You and I aren't that different, Teresa, are we? We both love men who could never truly love us back. We're both only as useful as what we can offer. We're both treated as property and pawns in this never ending game between Patrick and Red John."

Lisbon frowned and looked away from Lorelei.

"Don't get me wrong Teresa, Red John has seen you two together, more frequently than you could ever imagine, and he truly believes that you could be just what Jane needs to move on with his life and be happy. Why else would he have done everything that he's done?" Her tone took on the saccharine melody that Lisbon had become accustomed to hearing from her. "All he wants now is to see Jane happy, to see you happy."

Lisbon looked up into Lorelei's eyes and swallowed thickly. "Please," she choked out, "Jane and I can hardly stand each other. We fight, all the time." She allowed her voice to toughen and pick up speed. "We care about each other because we're partners. We look out for each other because that's what partners do, but we are _not_ in love, nor will we ever be. Red John has no idea what he's talking about."

Lorelei shook her head lightly, smiled and when she spoke she did so in a patronizing tone. "I told you, Teresa, he knows you personally, sees you frequently and you and Jane are not as good at hiding your feelings for each other as you think you are."

"The only people I see frequently are the people I work with," Lisbon spat out.

"Yes," Lorelei jumped on Lisbon's reply with a smile, then suddenly realized what she had just divulged and her expression crumbled.

Then it was Lisbon's turn to smile. "Wow, that was so much easier than I thought it would be." She stood up, grabbed her jacket and slid it on. "Thank you Lorelei, you've been most helpful." She headed to the door and grabbed the handle, then stopped on impulse and looked back. "You and I are in fact very different, Lorelei. For starters, _never_ would it _ever_ occur to Jane to prostitute me off to another man, and further, while Red John has obviously picked Jane over you, Jane has picked me over Red John on more than one occasion. Is he perfect? No. But does he make an effort to show me that I'm of value to him? More than Red John's done for you, I'd say." She let that sink in then added. "Enjoy life in prison."

She took one more look at Lorelei's face as she walked out the door—happy to note the horrified expression on her face as she thought over Lisbon's last words and her own.

* * *

Jane sat quietly in the bullpen wondering where Lisbon had got to. He glanced over at Cho who was reading a book and glared. The infernal man hadn't allowed him to get more than five yards away from him since Teresa had surreptitiously texted him to come over last night. He'd been so overcome by his confession and her following bombshell that it hadn't even occurred to him that she would text Cho when she'd gone up to use the bathroom.

She'd mentioned that she'd been doing some digging on Red John, but that she hadn't come up with anything useful and then she'd gone to the bathroom. He'd thought briefly about bringing it up again when she came back down, but decided against it. He wanted to spend the first night he'd told a woman, other than his wife, that he loved her doing what normal couples did in such circumstances—not talking about a serial killer.

When she'd come back, she'd immediately snuggled into his side, burying her head in his chest for the fifteen minutes it had taken Cho to get there. He should've known something was up when she'd kept avoiding his kisses, very ably he might add. _The little minx. _

He'd been tempted to kiss her right there in front of Cho, but he knew that was more likely to gain her wraith than affection and decided against it. He had dropped a bombshell on her as well, and he knew that she probably just wanted time alone to think about it. After seeing the amused smirk on her face as she'd shut the door in his face though, he'd decided that he was going to make her pay for her little scheme.

He uncrossed his legs, causing Cho to lower his book and glance over at him. He briefly thought about running for it, then decided that the possibility of that ending well were slim to none. Instead, he stood and stretched over his head.

Cho tensed, obviously thinking the same thing Jane had just been thinking, that he might make a run for it.

"Relax," Jane said. "I'm just going to make myself a cup of tea and I'll be right back on my couch where you can keep your beady little eyes on me."

Cho stood up and placed his book on his desk. "I'll go with you."

Jane immediately rethought the fruit basket he'd been considering getting for Grace for putting up with his crap lately, when she chortled at his plight while he made his way into the kitchen—Cho close at his heels.

Rigsby was in the kitchen looking through the refrigerator when he came in. "Ah, Rigsby. Tell Cho he doesn't need to follow me everywhere I go, would you please?"

Rigsby came out of the fridge with a small yogurt in his hand and an incredulous look on his face. "Why would I do that? You ran away from me on my watch. As far as I'm concerned you deserve all the irritation you get." He sauntered out of the kitchen and Jane watched dumbfounded.

Jane caught Cho's stare as he did. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked like he meant business. He wasn't sure he liked being under Cho's watch. It was always funny when it was someone else, but decidedly not when it was him.

Cho looked at him expectantly. "Come on, Mentalist, make your tea already so I can get back to my book."

Jane glared at him, but did as he was told. Teresa was going to pay for this.

* * *

Lisbon held her phone tightly to her ear as she made her way out of the elevator toward her office. She felt overwhelmed by everything: Lorelei, Red John, Jane, and now the mess they made at the club last night.

She stopped abruptly at her door at the sight before her. Cho sat at her desk reading a book while Jane stood at the table doing something that she was sure would give her a headache later. Still, she couldn't help but grinning when Jane looked away from the table and scowled at her. She finished up her conversation.

"Thanks Ryan," she reined her smile in. "I'll get back to you." She hung up and looked innocently at Jane. "What?"

He harrumphed and looked back down at the table. He was obviously still angry about last night.

"He's just pissed because I didn't let him get away with anything," Cho announced.

She glanced at Cho as he lowered his book and looked at her.

"Not true," Jane said in a calculating voice that made her almost worried for Cho, "I'm '_pissed_,' because you've been following me everywhere—to the kitchen to watch me make tea, and before that you followed me to my couch, and before that to my attic and before that you followed me to my car, and to the office and to my apartment." He stood away from the table, raised an indignant finger and pointed it at Cho while looking back at Lisbon. "He slept in my arm chair in front of the door last night."

"Direct order," Cho cut off Jane's gripe and crossed his arms over his chest. "'Stick to Jane like glue.' You're lucky I didn't follow you _into_ the men's room."

Jane scowled.

Lisbon chuckled. "You did good Cho," she said as she propped her door open. "I'll watch him for a while. I'm sure you need a break."

"_He_ needs a break?" Jane huffed.

Cho stood up and made his way out of the office as Lisbon removed her jacket and hung it on her coatrack.

"You little minx," Jane said from behind her. She turned to see him staring at her from the door, his hands in his pockets, rolling back on his heels with a cat that ate the cannery smile plastered on his abnormally handsome face.

She flashed a fake smile. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

He glanced out into the hall, but when she tried to see what he was looking at she noticed that every blind in her office was shut. It hadn't been like that when she'd left yesterday. The door was wide open though and she felt that offered her some protection. That was until Jane stepped to the side, grabbed the door, pulled it closed and engaged the lock.

She was at the door in a second, but before she could get to him, he'd pulled the blinds closed with a big grin covering his face.

"Jane," she barked as she reached for the cord and opened them.

He reached out and closed them again. "Teresa."

She opened them, her scowl growing deeper.

He closed them, his smirk growing bigger.

She opened the blinds and glanced out into the hall and saw Rigsby staring at them over a yogurt with a confused expression on his face. It wasn't unlike the expression he'd worn when he'd caught Jane feeling her face years ago to see what it felt like when he was smiling. She suddenly wished that Jane would be struck with blindness again. If he couldn't see her, she could make a clean get away. She looked back at Jane, who had taken a step closer to her.

"Jane, knock it off. This," she signaled to the blinds, "looks suspicious."

"It doesn't look suspicious, your behavior on the other hand…" His hands went into his jacket pockets.

She took a deep breath in. "Okay, let me put it like this. I don't feel comfortable in here, alone with you, with the blinds shut."

She watched as he appraised her expression for a moment, smile still firmly in place, and felt her stomach flip.

"Let _me_ put it like this," he said in a tone that felt _very_ predatory, "if you don't close these blinds right now, I'll kiss you right here, in front of this open window."

She narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

He lifted his hand to her. "Hello, my names Patrick Jane—I believe we've met before."

"Funny." She wanted to hit him.

He tilted his head at her, then reached for her hip.

She took a step back and out of his grasp, then glanced out her window at a bewildered looking Rigsby _and_ Cho.

_Great, when did Cho show up?_

She made eye contact with Jane. "Fine, close them."

He shook his head. "Uh uh. My terms were that you close the blinds."

She could feel the muscles in her jaw clinching painfully. She pushed Jane back with her right hand as she stepped to the door and closed the blinds, then looked back at Jane's obnoxious smiling face. "There happy now?" She started back to her desk, wanting to put distance between them. "Now, what do you want?"

Not even a step away, she felt his hand grasp her arm and pull her back to face him. Before she had time to process what was happening, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Her hands immediately went to his shoulders and her face heated up. She meant to push him away, had made a firm decision after he'd left last night that she wouldn't kiss him again, but as he deepened the kiss her mind went blank and her body reacted. Her hands slid from their defensive position on his shoulders and around to the back of his neck, one slipping into his hair.

His kiss was warm and intense and she could feel it through her entire body all the way down to her toes. He held her firmly to him and while she could feel a playful smile on his lips, it was obvious he had a goal in mind here.

The first time he'd kissed her it had been a surprise to both of them. Neither had known it was about to happen until it was happening, and Jane had taken it nice and slow. He'd been soft and gentle with her. Partially for himself and partially for her—she'd realized that later.

Then when she'd kissed him in the library it'd been out of desperation to shut him up. It'd worked, but it had also gotten out of control fast. Neither of them had really been thinking—just reacting. She was embarrassed to admit that it had all felt very senior year—but this, this was different.

He had wanted to kiss her last night, she knew that, but she hadn't let him reasoning that it was all _too_ much _too_ soon. She wasn't sure what to think. Then she'd dropped her Red John bomb on him and despite the fact that his hold on her had tightened, she was pretty sure that all thoughts of kissing went out of his head. Then Cho had come to collect him and that had been it. There had been a declaration of love, but no kiss.

So this was it. The kiss he'd wanted to give her last night after he'd told her how he felt. The kiss that she had been hoping to avoid—until this moment that is. His hands slid up and down her back as he showed her what it truly meant to be thoroughly kissed, to be overcome. Rationally she knew that if he ever dared say that she was "his," like he did about Red John—like she was some object he could lay claim to, she _would _punch him in the nose. But this was different somehow. While every move of his lips against hers, every flip of his tongue, and every caress of his fingertips were clearly some unspoken claim on her, and while she did feel well and truly possessed, she couldn't bring herself to be angry about it.

Instead, she gave as good as she got—her fingers dug into his hair and the skin on his neck, she playfully nipped at his bottom lip and smiled in return against his smile. It was perfect and wonderfully relaxing. She could feel every tense muscle in her loosening, could feel the hurt and fear she'd kept bottled up dissipating. She felt needed—loved, and not the love of a family member or friend, but the love of someone who was well and truly in love with her and that feeling was more potent than anything she'd ever experienced before—because it was Jane.

When he finally pulled away from her lips, he continued to hold her tight as he kissed his way across her cheek to her ear.

"Oh, wow," she breathed.

He chuckled. "See what I mean."

She smiled against his cheek at the sudden memory of him saying the exact same thing the first time he'd kissed her. "I thought you said you wouldn't kiss me if I closed the blinds."

He laughed again. "No, dear, I said I would kiss you with them open. I never said I wouldn't kiss you." His hands rubbed soothing circles over her back and she hummed her appreciation. "Now, in case there was any confusion about my feelings or what my intentions are…"

She laughed. Couldn't help it, really. Like he'd ever leave any room for doubt—please. Jane never did anything half way. Still, she felt the need to reassure him that she believed his veracity. "This definitely cleared it up." Then she pushed on his chest trying to move away from him. Apparently he had other plans in mind though and tightened his grip. "Still," she tried to sound agitated, "you need to stop kissing me at work. This is the third time you've done it and, frankly, it's not professional."

He smiled. "Actually, if you'll remember correctly, you kissed me once. You may not be a Mentalist, but I'm sure you remember."

"Oh, I did?" She shrugged. "I was kind of hyped up."

He smiled at her tenacity, but continued on with his point. "Also, I might not have felt the need to kiss you at work today if, first, you hadn't just been talking to Ryan on the phone," her brow furrowed, "and second you'd kissed me last night after I told you I loved you. Not to mention that I might have been very well sated of your kisses by work today, if you hadn't called Cho last night."

His smile at her blush, only made her feel warmer.

"Please, you just like messing with me. The only reason you're kissing me now is because you thought I was talking to Ryan, the super hot E.M.T. who wants to date me and not Ryan Stodges from the D.A's office, and because you want to get even with me for sicking Cho on you."

"That's not the only reason," he said softly, "and you know it."

She looked away from him shyly. "I know," she admitted.

"Good," he said. "and I'm glad that was Ryan Stodges and not Ryan the hot…"

"Super hot," Lisbon corrected.

He narrowed his eyes and continued. "For crying out loud, woman. Are you trying to make me jealous? Because if you are, it's working."

She smiled at him. "I know, I'm enjoying it. It's very empowering."

He shook his head at her. "Little minx."

She looked away from him, feeling her cheeks heating up yet again.

"Now, tell me," he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, his lips caressing her lobe as he spoke "what did you learn from Lorelei this morning?"

She leaned abruptly away from him and made eye contact, her brow furrowed and she tried to push away from him again, but he kept his grasp sure. "How did you know that I went to see Lorelei?"

"Hi, my name's Patrick Jane…"

"Jane," her tone was a low warning.

"You wanted to confirm your theory that we know who Red John is and who else could you confirm that with other than somebody who knows him. Plus, despite your self-satisfied smirk at my suffering, you were ill at ease." He smirked. "Glad I could help you relax, by the way."

"You're insufferable, Jane, you know that?"

He splayed his fingers over her back, leaned forward and gently covered her lips with his own. "Teresa?"

Lisbon sighed then gave in. "She said that we work with Red John, that he knows us personally and sees us frequently."

Jane eyes grew wide as saucers and she couldn't make out his expression. She swallowed feeling surprisingly nervous that he'd be upset with her.

"Jane," she asked warily.

When she said his name he seemed to snap out it and immediately gave her an impassioned kiss. "I love you," he said on a breath.

She tensed.

"Thank you," she whispered trying to disguise the trepidation in her tone. She stepped back and this time he let her, his expression now a mixture of concern. She made her way to the couch and sat down.

"I admit, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "What's wrong Teresa?"

"I'm sorry," she took a deep breath. She had been expecting Jane to be honest with her and she truly believed he was, but she couldn't expect that of him if she wasn't willing to be honest with him too. "What were you thinking when I told you what Lorelei said?"

He narrowed his eyes in question, waiting for her to continue.

"It's just something Lorelei said, well I said it about her and Red John and she threw it back at me." She looked down at her hands. "I panicked you see, because I know that I'm not only as important to you as what I can do to help you catch Red John."

Before she had the opportunity to look up again and into Jane's eyes, he was kneeling in front of her. He grasped his hands and started rubbing his thumbs over the tops of her hands. "I won't lie and tell you that I wasn't thrilled with what you uncovered," he confessed. "That information mixed with what you already have and my knowledge, will whittle down our suspect list substantially."

She smiled, but leaned away from in and back into the cushions. "Good, because I can't take this anymore."

"I wasn't finished Teresa," he said in a harsh tone that caused her to look back at him. "I didn't say I love you because you brought me information on Red John. I said it because I feel it and because I'm in awe of you."

She could feel tears prickling at the back of her eyes.

"For months I've been trying to get Lorelei to tell me something useful and for months I've come up empty handed, then you go in and in a matter of a conversation, bam!" He lifted her chin and made eye contact. "You're amazing. But it's not just that, it's how you handled the situation at the club last night, and how you work with your team and garner the loyalty of anyone who knows you, it's your kindness and how you're the only person who knows how to well and truly put me in my place. It's every phone call you made to me while I was in Vegas, and every rule you've bent on my behalf-even though I've rarely deserved it. That's why I love you, among many other reasons." His tone grew heated. "Not because you're a useful tool."

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, then slid forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her in return and she could feel his frustration.

"Jane," she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Yes."

"Do you think you could write that down for me, you know for future reference," she chuckled.

He shook his head, but she could feel the smile on his face against hers. Then suddenly he was pulling her into a standing position and off the couch. He gave her one last squeeze, then pulled away. He let his hand trace down her arm to her hand and grasped it in his. "I'll think about it. Now come."

He pulled her over to the table where he'd been standing when she came in and there before her was the print out of the vehicles that had been in the parking lot the night Red John had attacked her. Each page with names crossed out in two different colors. The blue she'd been using and black that matched a marker on the table. Also on the table was a small sheet of paper that she had taped to the top of her desk drawer, a sheet that she had meticulously outlined from the night Red John had killed Erica. She looked over at Jane and frowned.

"You went through my desk?"

"Yes," he lifted her map. "and I am so glad I did, because I found this little treasure. It took me a minute to decipher it-your handing writing is so tight and cramped-very Unabomber of you Lisbon and completely brilliant." He was staring at it wide eyed. "And you said you hadn't found anything useful," he chided playfully.

"You ever think that maybe I taped it to the roof of my drawer so you wouldn't find it?" She asked removing her hand from his before she crossed her arms over her chest.

He furrowed his brow and looked at her. "Of course not, you got the idea from me, consciously or not you wanted me to find this. I just wish you'd told me…"

"That I drank the cool aid," she inserted. "No, I was waiting until the very last minute possible." The smiled at each other for a moment and then she continued. "So, show me what you've got."

"Well, I cross referenced what we already know about Red John with your list and was able to narrow it down to about fifty names. But from what you got from Lorelei this morning, I'm sure will be able to knock off several more names by this afternoon." He continued looking at her map and shoved his free hand into his jacket pocket. "We're just going to have to push through."

A knock sounded at her door and they both turned to look and said simultaneously, "Come in."

Van Pelt came in wide-eyed and looking more than a little concerned. "Hey boss."

"What's up Grace," Lisbon asked as Jane looked back down at the table.

"I just went to get the mail and this was in there for you," she handed her a white envelope that had her name written in neat scrawl across the front.

"Thanks," Lisbon said, suddenly worried that her appearance might be giving away her and Jane's little tryst. Was her hair mussed? Shirt un-tucked? She did a quick mental check, and noticed Jane smiling out of the corner of her eye. _Jerk._

Grace looked between the two of them then asked, "Everything all right in here?"

"It's fine." Lisbon decided on giving her a part truth. "I went to see Lorelei this morning and our Mentalist friend here figured it out. He just wanted to talk about it without anyone eavesdropping."

Grace threw a dirty look at Jane's back and Lisbon nodded in agreement.

"Well," Grace said, "if you need anything…"

"Actually, why don't you and the guys get whatever you're working on wrapped up and meet in here in half an hour," Lisbon said fully back in cop mode. "Oh and you're on Jane duty tonight."

Jane stood tall and stared at her before looking at the dumbfounded expression on Grace's face. She was just about as excited to be watching him as he was being assigned another body guard that wasn't Lisbon. Lisbon chuckled under breath.

"Yes boss," Grace grumbled as she walked out of the office.

He raised his brow at her. "Running scared are we?"

"Please," she scoffed as she started opening the envelope in her hands. "It'll look suspicious if everyone doesn't take a turn. That's all."

He returned his attention to their suspect list. "Whatever you have to tell yourself, sweetheart."

She shook her head as she lifted the letter and began reading:

_Dear Agent Lisbon, _

_ I wanted to applaud your choice of wall paint, although it will be most inconvenient should I ever decide to pay you one final visit._

"Jane," Lisbon gasped.

She saw Jane look over at her but somehow missed how he'd ended up beside her, one arm around her waist to steady her, the other holding the letter. He read the rest out loud:

_Hopefully it will never come to that, because I have grown quite found of you over the years. Although, I must confess my displeasure with you and Patrick for not taking advantage of the second chance on life I have given you. The game is only fun if the King and Queen are both intact, you see, I do believe that Patrick would become useless were he to lose you. I write this letter as a forewarning, a chance for you to except what I have worked so hard to give you both. I do not like my hard work and thoughtfulness being thrown in my face. I'm offering you one last chance to rectify this matter before I am forced to end this game once and for all. _

_ Hoping all is well. _

_ Your Friend,_

_ Red John _

A small crimson face smiled up at them from the bottom of the page.

* * *

**A/N: Whew. That took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. The conversation between Lorelei and Lisbon is one that I've been planning since the beginning and was kind of surprised when it finally arrived. I knew I wanted Lorelei to unwittingly confess something to Lisbon and I wanted it to happen because Lisbon was using the skills she'd learned from Jane, ie: the scene in 4x24 where Lisbon asks the witness to close her eyes and see the suspect coming toward her. I loved that. I wish they'd shown more of that last season. Oh well. Also I wanted Lisbon to have a moment of power over Lorelei and I hope that was conveyed in the end of the scene. Anyway, it was a killer, no pun intended, because I had the hardest time figuring out what Lorelei was going to disclose. **

**I also hadn't expected the last scene to be so long, but apparently Jane and Lisbon had a lot they wanted to...ahem...share with one another. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you thought. Thanks!**

**Responses to reviewers without accounts: **

**annaflower: Yay! I'm so glad you agree with my assessment here. I firmly believe that if they end up together on the show, Jane will be the one to make the first move. Obviously that's why I've written my story this way. I think that Lisbon would definitely take a minute to figure out her feelings, definitely longer than Jane. I think that's partially evident when in 4x24 he told her he loved her. I put a lot of thought into how he would confess, and just like with the first kiss I just couldn't see it any way other than humorous. As a matter of fact, my first draft of his confession starting going very serious and I ended up scrapping three pages. It just felt wrong. I much preferred his cavalier attitude. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it and thought it was in character. Thank you so much for your wonderful review. It was very flattering. **

**Tina: I'm glad you enjoyed how I handled Jane here. In my head it just made sinse that when he really figured it out that he would be totally upfront. You will get a confession from Lisbon by the end of the story, I promise. Until then, I hope what I post will suffice. Thank you so much for you flattering review!**

**Guest: I'm glad you liked the part where she was holding his shirt. I liked it too. It seems so tender, a way for her to show she needs Jane without spelling it out. I actually stole that moment from my other story, I Have Dishonesty In Me. Lisbon did something very similar to that in that story and I loved it so mcu I just had to repeat it soon. I'm glad you enjoy confrontation, cuz I defintiely put a bunch in this chapter, and there will be more to come. Thanks for your review!  
**


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